Those Eyes
by demonspawn666
Summary: AU Fic. Kagome and Inuyasha were childhood friends, until Inuyasha gets himself into some trouble. When Kagome is a serial killer's next target, what will Inuyasha have to say about it? Please R&R! MS IK
1. Prologue

Okay...This chapter is a little fluffy, I'll warn you now. But please read, it will get better I promise!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha

Those Eyes

Chapter One:

It was a dark building. Even on a sunny day. The bars over the windows  
prevented light from penetrating the inside. The halls were dark and  
mysterious, and the air was cold. She quietly followed the tall man leading  
her through the doors of the Juvenile Hall.

The cold air wrapped around her exposed legs. She tried to pull her large  
uniform sweater over them, but she did not succeed. She shivered slightly   
before he opened a heavy door, revealing a small waiting room.

The yellow paint tried to provide a comforting atmosphere; instead it  
appeared dull and depressing. The seats were a cold metal, which did not  
warm her up when she took a seat on one of them.

"He'll be in the visiting area soon, we'll call you in, in just a moment  
ma'am." Said the large man. His rich voice seemed comforting in this dull  
place. She nodded her head. He walked off and went through a wide door made  
of metal.

She was nervous. The butterflies swirled in her stomach. It had been so long  
since she had last seen him and she wasn't quite sure what to say.

She twirled her ebony locks around her finger. She was a pretty girl. She  
had wavy hair that fell to the middle of her back; it was black, dark black.  
Her skin was light, but at the same time she had a tan.

Her other hand grasped her knee as she waited anxiously. Her warm, brown  
eyes darted to all the corners of her room as she sat silently. Then the   
door opened, and the large man came through the door.

It was almost time, she was going to see him soon, after all this time. It  
had been almost two years, and now she would see him. Her heartbeat became  
faster and she felt warm. _Why am I so nervous to see an old friend? _She  
asked herself. Maybe it was because over time he had become more than a  
friend to her, but that didn't matter.

She came here so that he could have some company. It wasn't like he had  
parents who came to visit him, and his friends…well; they are the reason he  
was here in the first place.

The man took long, slow strides, but he eventually got to her. "Miss, if you  
would follow me to the visiting area," He held out his large hand to help  
her get up. She took it, her small hand engulfed by his.

She stood up and dusted off her skirt. She checked her shirt for stains, not  
that she could change anything now. She then followed the man through the   
door from which he came.

The next room was as cold as the last and she couldn't help but shiver once  
more. They walked to another hallway. The doors were made of glass. Inside  
each was a table and four chairs. They were all very intimidating. It was as  
if they wanted to expose you as being guilty of some crime or offense. She  
nervously grasped her hand behind her back and hummed a quiet tune to  
herself.

The man took out a large key chain that was filled with keys. He picked out  
one and unlocked a door to the side. He walked into the room and she meekly  
followed. She looked around at the glass walls. She could see the end of the   
hallway from the inside of the room. She then averted her eyes to the empty  
chair by her feet.

It was metal with an imitation-leather cushion. She decided it would be  
warmer than the surrounding air, and so she sat down gracefully. She  
crossed her thin legs and looked up at the man. She smiled at him and her   
nodded.

He cleared his throat, " You have ten minutes, and you will be watched." He  
sent a suspicious glance to the figure opposite her and looked down at her  
round face again. He smiled and walked out, leaving the door open.

She pursed her lips and looked up from the floor._ There he is_. She told   
herself. His golden eyes reflected confusion. She smiled and waved her hand  
slightly.

"Hi." She offered.

He sat still in his chair. He had been confused enough that someone actually  
came to visit him, especially after two years here, but he was not expecting  
her to come. He realized his mouth had been hanging open since he first saw  
her walking down the hall.

"Why are you here?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

A clutter of bodies moved through the halls. Talking and laughter echoed off  
the walls. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the air and he was  
determined to follow it. He hadn't slept at all the past few nights and the  
lack of rest was finally starting to catch up with him.

His black slacks whipped against his legs as he sped through the rooms,  
avoiding everyone coming his way.

"Thank God!" He muttered to himself as he found the lounge. He poured  
himself some of the dark brew. He brought the cup up to his nose and took in  
the bitter scent. "Ah…" He rolled his shoulders back and took a sip.

The dark liquid was almost scorching, but that didn't matter to him, he  
needed that caffeine, bad. He quickly took in the last drops and refilled  
his cup. He left the container on the counter as he walked across the room.  
He dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out a black leather wallet.

It was a birthday present; Koharu had given it to him. He smiled just at the  
thought of her. It was not much of an expense for her, being a successful  
lawyer, but the gift wasn't what made him smile. It was what it stood for.  
_Koharu…_ He thought. He was twenty-two years old now, right out of college.   
He had met Koharu on a rainy day in the city, and they had remained close  
ever since. This was his first relationship with an older woman; he guessed  
that was what made it so special. It was his first time to date someone for  
longer than two months; in fact, they had been together for six months now.  
It was an accomplishment in his book.

He took out a crisp dollar bill and placed it in the slot. The vending  
machine seemed to inhale it, and the next thing he did was push the buttons  
for chocolate cookies. _Sugar…caffeine…I need!_

Today was his first real job. Well in crime scene investigation anyway. He  
had just been hired for a small town department. It was a quiet town, and he   
quickly learned his way around after living here for less than a month.  
There weren't any major cases in the area. His job today was more for the  
state then the town.

A serial murder had been plaguing the state for months- years now, and today  
he was going to see pictures from each murder. This case wasn't new to him   
though, he learned about it in his first year of college. The basics of this  
job were taught that year, but most importantly he was taught this: Not  
every case you encounter will be solved, criminal master minds are no fools,  
nor are most murderers. This people have skill and won't leave us many  
links. They aren't stupid, and they don't plan on going to jail any time  
soon. Cold cases, unsolved ones, are still being reported today. And the way  
these cases area solved, if and when, you generally need to understand the  
criminal's way of thinking. Sometimes you can't understand the criminal  
until you know their past, if we knew that already there would be no need  
for this job now would there?

And so he knew this case wouldn't be an easy one. The practice cases he had  
at school are games compared to this. His only question: Why do they want me  
on it?

He placed those thoughts aside and ate the cookies.

"Ahem." Came a deep voice from behind him. He jumped slightly from surprise  
and turned around.

"Oh, Mr. Sesshoumaru, pardon me." He walked out from in front of the  
machine.

"Miroku, I don't need to buy snacks, they are waiting for you, and you are   
late."

"Oh man!" Miroku slightly bowed to the emotionless man before him and ran  
out of the room.

"Fool." Sesshoumaru muttered to himself, his golden eyes reflecting…   
disgust? The officer walked off into the now empty hall.

Miroku sped down the empty hallways until he finally found Room 119. That   
was where he was told to go.

He ran in and took a seat in the back of the dark room. Fortunately for him,  
no one really seemed to notice his belated entrance. He looked up to see a   
lecturer. She was probably describing the case.

"…The No Man Case. There is a serial killer out there. We don't know if it  
is a man or woman killing these people. We don't know what age the murderer  
is- we know nothing. You are here to provide fresh ideas and opinions. We  
are starting from the top today and hope to find some leads by the end of  
the month."

_Jeez…I guessed this would be different then school, the cases would take   
longer to solve, but if we have so much technology, why does this job depend  
so much on humans? _Miroku contemplated this while the speaker continued her  
lecture. He was astonished. He couldn't believe that they were only expected  
to find leads after a whole month of research. He didn't understand what  
could possibly take them so long.

He tapped his pencil on the wooden table. He was fidgeting now. _Oh great,  
the caffeine is starting to take effect. _He pursed his lips and began  
studying his surroundings. The walls were white, the tile on the floor was  
white, and the wooden tables were also white. He couldn't be sure though,   
the lights had been turned off. A projector was set in the middle of the  
room. The lecturer was standing in its light.

She was tall and slim. She looked very elegant. She had one hand rested on  
her hip. Her nails were painted a light crimson. He always thought that  
shades of red were attractive on a woman. Her other hand was holding a  
manila folder. It was stuffed to the brim and she seemed to have a tight  
clutch on it.

She was using the folder as a fan. It was rather hot in the room. Miroku  
supposed that since it was winter, the heater was turned up for everyone's   
comfort. It seemed more stifling then comfortable to him.

He continued to tap his pencil loudly on the table. He was staring at her  
thick lips, but he didn't hear a sound. She stopped fanning herself and  
faced him directly in the eye. "Miroku, so you have some kind of problem?"

It took him a few moments to register that she had been speaking to him. He  
stopped tapping his pencil. "Yes ma'am?" He asked, but then he realized she  
had already started to speak to the group again. She eyed him, he annoyed  
her, and he could tell by the way she looked at him.

That's when he decided to listen to him for once. "… Here I have pictures   
from each crime scene." She pointed to the manila folder. "If you would all  
take a quick look…" She placed the first clear sheet onto the glass.

A large picture spread across the wall and she walked to the side. "As you  
see, the body is in a fetal posi-" Miroku tuned her out again.

He looked at the picture. It was hard for him to focus. The caffeine was  
really affecting him. His eyes scanned the picture faster than he ever had  
before.

_Body…dresseroll…doll_

She replaced that picture with a second, and once again his eyes quickly   
searched the photograph.

_Books…doll…body_

Then she replaced the second image.

_Doll…television…body_

Then he realized, "Ma'am, so far every picture has had a doll in it. They  
don't look the same, they are very plain, but they each look relatively  
alike."

The woman looked at him then at the pictures she had in her hand.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Why are you here?" He repeated. His eyes shimmered.

She fidgeted under his angry stare and looked down at the hem of her  
skirt_…Oh look, a string is loose…_She went to break it off when he grabbed  
her chin. She shuttered at the violent action.

He pulled her round face forward so that she was now staring straight at his  
face. He didn't seem angry, but she couldn't identify the look he was giving  
her. She was silent for a moment. "I just wanted to say hi."

He raised an eyebrow and sent her a quizzical look. "Now?" He paused. He  
took a good look at her, trying to figure her out. "I've been here for  
almost two years, and you come to say 'hi' now?" His voice was almost   
dripping with sarcasm.

_How can I tell him? I don't think he'll understand that I couldn't tell him  
until now, so what do I say? I was bored?  
_  
"I don't know, I just felt like seeing you. And I thought you'd be kind of  
happy to see an old friend after so long, you being here all alone." She  
smiled on the left side of her mouth. A strand of hair fell across her face.

"Kagome…" His eyes softened. He reached out a hand and brushed the hair  
behind her ear. He stared at her, a smile almost escaping across his face.  
She didn't notice it, but he did. He looked straight into her eyes, he tried  
to find some kind of lie, but he didn't. _Why does she always make me feel so   
happy? It's been a year and I still haven't forgotten about her, it's like  
nothing between us has changed even though everything else around us has.  
But I guess that's how things always are with Kagome…_"Why are you so worried  
over me? You have always been like this. You are far too considerate of   
everyone. I-I just don't get it!" His fists became balls and he yelled at  
the ground in frustration.

"Stop worrying about that Inuyasha! Why I am here isn't the point. The fact  
is, I came for you. We will talk about people other than us okay?" She   
stared at him. She sighed.

"Um…" Inuyasha gave in, " Anything new at school?"

She thought about his question for a moment. "Well, actually, come to think  
of it, not really. The only thing I can think of is that the janitor got  
fired."

"Fired? What did he do, put a cherry bomb in a toilet and blame it on a   
student?"

She laughed. "No, nothing like that. He was having an affair with the  
secretary."

"Huh? What's so wrong about that?" He asked.

"Well, she kid of is the principal's wife."

Inuyasha nodded in understanding. "I still like my idea better." She  
laughed. Her sweet, innocent laugh that always turned Inuyasha into a pile  
of mush. But not this time, he had to protect her, and he was going to do it  
now. _No going soft.  
_  
"Kagome look, you have to stop worrying about me."

She looked at him and sighed. "Not this again…Look Inuyasha, I came here to  
keep you company, not to argue with you."

"No Kagome, you don't get what I'm saying."

She gave him a puzzled look. _What does he mean by that? _She was about to  
respond, but he cut her off.

"Look, I want you to leave me alone."

_What?_

"All these years I've ignored you. And at the same time, you have always   
tried to help me. It's obvious that I am causing you pain, so I want- I want  
you to get out of my life."

_What are you saying Inuyasha?  
_  
"Please just forget about me, live like you've never met me before, please  
just live a happy life. You don't deserve the turmoil I've put you through."

"But Inuyasha! I want you in my life! I don't care about"

"Look Kagome, STOP IT!" He yelled. "Just forget about me please! I'm   
probably never going to get out of this shit hole, and I don't want you to  
feel bad for me! It's my fault anyway, so stop worrying about it! I don't  
want you to feel any pain on my behalf!" He stood up in a domineering stance  
and pointed to the door. "Please, just leave me from now on." He stared down  
at the floor.

She was in shock for a while. _Should I really just leave him alone? It isn't  
really impacting my life now, but could it eventually? I just don't know!  
_She got up from the chair, undecided.

She walked towards the door. She swallowed the upcoming tears. _I will not  
cry, this is the kind of pain he was talking about.  
_  
"By Kagome."

Inuyasha whispered as she looked back at him. She left through the door. "By   
Inuyasha." She whispered so that only he could possibly hear her.

End of Chapter One!!!

So…this here is chapter one. I know what you are most likely thinking,  
"What's with all this mushy crap?!" And I would like you to take into  
consideration this: 1. A depressed Kagome makes a good target for a serial  
killer…and 2. That's just how the plot goes. 3. I insist on making all my   
stories Inu X Kag, so a lot might be fluffy, but I will focus a lot on the  
killer when the time comes! So Please Review, I want to hear the good, the  
bad, and the ugly!! And besides, this is the first time I've written this  
kind of story anyways!! Sorry for any typos or confusion!!!


	2. Chapter One

Warning: I've been told this chappie is confusing, but plz stick with me, if you have any questions, I'll answer them next chapter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own anything......sadly

Chapter Two:

The gray sky reflected her remorseful feelings. She was still upset about what he had said to her. _Was it really necessary to be so harsh? If he just wanted me to leave him alone, that was all he had to tell me, he didn't have to be so mean over it._ She crossed her arms in an attempt to be warmer. A cold wind brushed her hair across her face; she shivered. It was so cold. She walked a little faster, hoping the school would come into her view soon.

As she rounded a corner she could see it. It stood tall behind ancient oak trees. Several students were also on their way. Normally they would have sauntered around the courtyard before the school bell, but in this weather that was all different. She walked beside the iron rails; she was almost inside.

A second burst of cold air blew against her fragile frame. She was prepared to have numb arms, but they never came. She felt warmth come over her body. She looked up. There he was.

"Inuyasha?" He stood tall. His silver hair was tossed be the light breeze, his body silhouetted against the white sunlight. "Why did you give me your coat?" _Isn't he the one who wanted me to leave him alone?_

"Feh. You were cold. I'm not just gonna let some girl freeze to death right in front of me you know." He held his head high. " Look, just give it back to me after school okay? But until then, just leave me alone." He walked ahead of her towards the school.

_How odd._ She thought to herself. She wrapped the coat around tightly. It was very warm.

A tear found its way down her cheek. _Why does that jerk have to be so stubborn? He can't hate me. He wouldn't have given me his jacket. But he still doesn't want to talk to me! That just doesn't make any sense!_ Her bottom lip quivered. "I can't cry over a jerk like him, it just isn't worth it!" She trudged through the pathway leading to the school.

She stepped inside the doors and welcomed the warm air. She put on a smile and walked through the hall. Several of her friends waved to her. She nodded her head towards them, but she didn't speak. _That Inuyasha, why does he make me so sad? Why do I care so much about him? I can't describe how happy I feel when I see him, but after what he said- he doesn't want to talk to me anymore- every time I do as much as think about him, I get sad. I don't think I can take this anymore! _She balled up her fist and shook her head. _I will not think of him anymore!_ Some of the students around her gave off puzzled looks at her actions, but they went right back to their business. _He told me that Inuyasha would be like this. Every day that Inuyasha was at the Juvenile Hall, could he be right? Is Inuyasha really a bad person? No! I just cannot allow myself to believe that! I've known him for too long, I would have seen that in him by now…maybe._

It was odd, for the past year she had imagined that she would be so happy that Inuyasha had come back, but now, his first day back, she felt so sad and angry. She was confused, and she stayed that way through all her classes that day.

Fortunately, the day had gone by faster than expected. She soon found herself walking back home. _I hardly saw Inuyasha today, I guess his presence doesn't really affect school after all, I thought it would…_ She was on the sidewalk, the cold air nipping at her bare legs. That's when she remembered, "Oh wait, I was supposed to return Inuyasha's jacket to him!" She spun around and walked quickly back to the school building.

She turned the corner by the courtyard. She hit something hard. She hadn't seen it; her mind was too preoccupied with memories to see her surroundings. She felt herself loose balance. A muffled yell slipped from her mouth. She felt her legs bend; she was falling. She saw her hair fly in front of her face. She tightly shut her eyes, awaiting the pain she was soon to experience.

Surprisingly, that pain never came. She slowly opened her eyes in suspicion. _Is my mind playing tricks on me? Did I actually fall? Why didn't I hit the ground?_ She looked up, only to find that she was being held from the waist. "What?" She asked to herself in confusion.

"You didn't think I would let you fall and injure yourself, now would you Kagome?" She saw his face. It was tanned, the eyes were blue ebbs, and his long black hair was in a high ponytail.

"Kouga? What are you doing here?" She heard herself ask.

"Well I was going home after a long day of school." He smiled. "But the question is…what are you doing here? I'm pretty sure your house is in the opposite direction." He placed her on her feet, but he kept his arms around her waist.

"Well, I was going to return this coat to someone." She looked at the hands around her waist. _This feels rather uncomfortable; I wish he would stop holding me like this._ She smiled at him.

"Really?" He leant forward, close to her face. A red color was spreading over her face. _Why is he coming so close? Why are his eyes closed?_ Her eyes were wide open, and her heart was beating quickly.

Then he moved his face to the left, he sniffed her coat. His once happy, pleasant expression turned into a frown. "This kind of smells like Dog-boy. This wouldn't be by any chance his now would it?"

She smiled weekly. "Yes, it is his. He gave it to me this morning because he saw that I was cold. It was a perfectly gentleman- like act." She gave the boy in front of her a hard stare.

He 'humphed'. "I could have done that." He crossed his arms over his chest and looked towards the street.

"But you didn't because you weren't there." She replied, still staring at his face.

"Well call for me next time! I'll come to you as fast as possible!"

"What on Earth do you have against Inuyasha, Kouga? He was only trying to be nice to me!" She balled her fists and waited expectantly for an answer. "Well?"

He faced her. "Look Kagome, I don't want you to get hurt. He hurts everyone, and I don't want him to get to you too! Just- I don't want you to be sad, and I know that's the only thing he can give to you Kagome, sadness and pain. You don't deserve it! And as long as you associate with him, there's no way to avoid those feelings!"

She was about to respond when he planted a rough kiss on her lips. She felt an odd tickling sensation from the contact. _But you don't get it! When I'm with him, the pain is worth it! For every bad thing he does, he does something so much better! I think I'm in love with him and I'll suffer any emotion to be with him, whatever it takes._ She then realized that he hadn't heard her, that she hadn't said anything at all, and that now they were kissing.

She pushed against his chest and separated them. "Kagome?" She saw a lost look in his eyes. He appeared to be…sad. _Kouga?_ And then hemoved to kiss her again.

"Stop it!" He jumped. Even she was surprised by the angry tone of her voice.

_Kagome what is it?_ He found himself wanting to say, but he couldn't risk getting the answer he didn't want.

"Kouga!?" Both of their heads spun around. There was a confused, angry Inuyasha. He was standing on the sidewalk, his white uniform shirt un-tucked, and his school bag's contents spilled on the sidewalk. He looked from Kouga, whose arms were reaching out to Kagome, and then to Kagome you looked angry, and at the same time as if she was backing away from the other's grasp. "You bastard! Are you trying to force yourself on her?!"

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(Yea, because of technical difficulties, I'm using this as my separator '!!!' So this means a new section. But sometimes I'll use a row of A's too, so, well, you get the picture!)

Same Day, Different Place:

"Ah ha! I found it!" She exclaimed to herself as she dug through the glove department in her car. It was rather surprising that she had found anything speaking as the whole vehicle was filled with papers, files, envelopes, clothes, food…and well, you get the picture. The '96 Saturn SL2 was filled with enough items to be considered a small store.

She held an old quarter out of the side window, smiling up at the recipient. The man cracked an amused smirk. He took the quarter and gave the woman a bag. "Here's your hamburger, no onions, extra lettuce, have a good day and be sure to come to Burger King again soon!" A fake smile was plastered across his face, what she assumed they taught people in his profession to do on day one. _I wish they'd stop pretending to be happy, every one knows that a man his age is desperate if he has to work at a place like this. But then again, I guess that's why they always tell you to go to college so you can get a decent job!_ She checked the bag's contents, not that a simple order such as hers could possibly get messed up, and then she drove off.

"So…I have a meeting in ten minutes, and then I have to go see my client, and then…I have a date!" She smiled to herself as she parked her car. She opened the bag and grabbed her sandwich. "Mmm, I've been waiting for this all day!" She unwrapped the foil. She raised the sandwich to her mouth. She took a bite. "Yu-uck!" She grimaced and threw the sandwich down. "What the hell was that? It certainly wasn't what I ordered!" She looked down at the fish patty. "Well at least I know what it is now, but I hate fish!" She sighed and rested her head against the door.

She looked at her watch, speaking, as the car's clock didn't work. She was a little early, but it isn't like there was anything better for her to do now. She flipped the visor down and looked at her reflection. _Well, I almost look professional today!_ She thought to herself as she brushed her hair back. _Well, as professional as a girl living in her car can look…_

Yes, that's right. She lived in her car; fortunately it hadn't been for long. She had just moved to this town. She was staying at a motel, but she couldn't afford it anymore, so, here she was, in her car.

_So far the situation isn't looking good for Inuyasha. His fingerprints are on the weapon, strands of his hair at the crime scene, I don't know what I can do. Everything is against him. The only thing I know is that he is NOT lying. He doesn't have a good alibi, but, I don't know...all I am sure of is that he is innocent. If only the judge could see his eyes the same way I saw him. He told me that he didn't kill the boy, he looked me straight in the eye with so much honesty, so much respect,...so much truth. That is why I cannot believe that he is guilty, those eyes... _She readjusted herself in her seat and looked out the window. There wasn't much traffic outside today. That was pretty unusual. It was three o'clock on a Wednesday afternoon, parents should be driving their kids home by now.

She tapped her fingers against the stearing wheel. _Can I really do this? Am I good enough to defend this kid? I mean, he IS suspected of murder- not to mention the State has evidence against him._ She sighed. _I just don't know anymore. I used to be good at this, especially for someone my age, but well, if I'm so good at this why am I living from my car? Oh yea... It's because I'm TOO young, that makes it look like I have no experience...and my past doesn't help much eather. Urg! Sango, stop thinking like this! You- I- can do this!!_

She looked at the time. _I better go in_. She removed her keys from the ignition. The car was silent, but for the ocassional pops coming from under the hood. She unbuckled herself and stepped out of the car. _It's now or nothing. I have to defend him._ She stood up straight. _He said I should look for signs of framing, okay...but exactly how do I look for that? _She adjusted her maroon suit. She then made her way inside the large white building.

Several minutes later...

It was a croweded room, but at least she had finally found it. She took a seat to the left of the room. She was the only one in that area.

"Hello Miss!" Came a perky voice from behind her. She jumped up in her chair and slowly turned her body to see the speeking person. It was a man. He wasn't the tallest, around 5' 10", she assumed- and he wasn't the ugliest either. He had dark brown hair that was pulled into a small ponytail behind his head. His dark eyes which were surrounded by thick lashes gazed at her.

"Yes?" _Who's he? What does he want?_

"Mind if I sit here?" he pointed to the chair adjacent to hers.

She squinched her eyes at him. "Sure, it doesn't really matter to me." _You know- now that I think about it, he kind of does look familiar, who is he?_

She looked around the room. The D. A. (District Attorney) was staring at her angrily. _Is she trying to scare me about the case?_

The mother of the murder victim was sitting in the front row of seats. She was staring blankly at the wall. Her husband, or the man next to her, wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She rested her head against his.

_Inuyasha said that some other kid from the school was the one who killed the boy. He said that that kid wasn't going to be here, the kid knew, or thought he knew that he wasn't going to get into any trouble. Well, I'll try to prove him wrong._

_Inuyasha said he was a member of some gang. Well, if it's a gang killing other kids off, then it wouldn't be the first time this kind of thing happened, I should know. Those bastards, I will do my best to have them convicted, and to save Inuyasha as well._

Some man came into the room. "Alright, I have the images of the crime scene. If you are involved in this case, this won't be the only time you see these, however, if you are doing this for...recreation" The tall man paused and scanned over the room. He stopped when he saw the man next to her. He cleared his throat and continued, "This will be your only chance to preview this information." he placed a clear sheet over a humming projector. "Enjoy." He left the room. Five clear images swept across the white wall. (Yea, I know this isn't how it works, but give me a break, I'm 14 for crying out loud!)

Sango looked at the pictures in front of her. All she could see was a chalk outline and a gun. "So what are you here for?" She was startled by the voice again.

She turned to the side. "I'm the defendant's attorney." He stared at her face for a moment.

"You look awefully young to be a lawyer, but then again, so does Koharu." He nodded towards the right side of the room. There was her current enemy, the district attorney.

"Yea, I guess." She agreed.

"So...I've been reading on the case. All signs point to your man. He has no alibi and his prints are at the crime. How can you defend someone like that?"

She raised an eyebrow. _What an odd question_. " Because when he told me that he was innocent, I had to believe him."

"Why is that?" He gave her a curious look.

"Because I couldn't see his lie, he was perfectly honest." He nodded his head.

"I've never met the kid, but I think he's innocent." he blurted out.

She turned to him. "Really? Is that so? Why?" Now she was interested.

"It's all too obvious. He may have been in high school, but he couldn't be that stupid! he would have known better than to leave the weapon at the scene of the crime. And besides, he's a hanyou, there's no way he could be in a rush, it's not like he ran an dropped the gun or something. Naturally he's faster than any man." She nodded. The man continued his argument. _He's good_. She then took notes...(Okay so she is being a bit of an ameteur...)

The man returned to the room and took the image off the projector. "That will be all for now. Have a good evening."

As if on cue, the mother cried, "How can I do that! My son is dead! Dead! And he was only 15!..." Her husband whispered into her ear, and they slowly walked out of the room.

Sango stood up and looked down at the notes she had written. "Thank you so much, it's like I've been brain dead for this case. And you make all these things sound so obvious." _And it seems like I've known someone just like you before... _She held out her hand.

"Not a problem, I only want to help justice be served." He took her hand. "Now, I would like to introduce myself..."

And that's when it clicked. _So THAT'S who it is! I can't believe it, and he was such a gentleman too!_ She slapped him on the cheek; he jumped back in response.

"What the-"

"Miroku! You haven't changed since highschool! Except it takes you a bit longer to get on a woman!" She stormed out of the room. _That jackass! What's he doing here!_

"How'd you- but...do you know me?" He asked no one, now that he was alone in the room. _Who are you? I can't remember..._ He thought about the strange, now familiar girl.

Back to Kagome:

Inuyasha fumed. "How could you even think of doing that to Kagome?" His voice was trembling and she could tell he was angry.

"Dog breath, get a life. I was not forcing myself on her, you just came in at the wrong time." The wolf demon smirked.

"Wrong time? I don't think there's a right time, not when she's gringing away from you like that!" He looked at Kagome who hadn't moved from her position.

"Get a life Inuyasha, stop being so jealous. You know that you're only going to hurt her again." His smile only grew wider. Inuyasha's eyes formed into small slits.

"Why I oughtta!" Inuyasha pounced on the other man.

_What are they talking about?_ Thought Kagome. She moved for the first time, cupping her hands in front of her body. _Why are they fighting? Wait! They're getting hurt!_ She began to yell at them to stop. They seemed deaf, blocking all signs that weren't from themselves.

The two had been fightinig for a while now, and she could do nothing to stop it. She had been screaming on the top of her lungs, but not even a passer-by would stop. _Did Kouga and Inuyasha used to fight like this? I knew they didn't like each other much, but could I really have been that blind? _

Kagome thought to herself helplessy as the two boys bruised each other. She could actually smell blood, and she was standing yards away.

"We'll settle this next time dog face!" Kouga spat as he was able to free himself from the hanyou. He kicked the hanyou in the chest, a loud thud sounding. Then Kouga sped down the street. Inuyasha tried to jump after him, but he only cringed from the pain in his ribs.

"Ugh." He gasped weakly.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried as she ran towards him. Her eyes were big.

He could feel the warmth of her arms as they encircled him. "Kagome..."

"I'm going back to school to get you some bandages, STAY HERE!" She exlaimed as she ran down the pathway.

_Kagome, please stop it. I don't want to hurt you again, and this is how it all starts: me being helpless, and you trying to save me._ He thought as he stood up and ran in the opposite direction. _Maybe if a make you sad enough just one time, you'll be too afraid to come back to me..._ That's what he wanted to believe as he ran off.

_Almost there..._ She thought. She was almost to the office. She passed the ladies restroom and saw a pair of gray sneakers. Those could only be shoes of the janitor, she knew that much. _Oh look, the new janitor! I should say hi, but I have to help Inuyasha, the janitor can wait._

The man in the doorway just replaced a picture in his pocket. _Mother...If I could find you again.... _he patted his chest pocket, where he had placed the picture. He heard retreateing steps in the hall. He looked out.

_A girl?_ He thought as he saw the skirted figure. Her ebony hair followed her body. As she rounded the corner he could see her light skin.He could almost see the shape of her face. _Mother?  
_  
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Ten Minutes later, still with Kagome:

It had taken a long time for her to get the bandages, or at least that's how it seemed to her under the pressure. "Inuyasha!" She exclaimed as she rounded the corner. But to her surprise he was not there. She placed the bandages on the ground. And walked home. "If that's wat you want, for now so be it."

_Inuyasha, why do you always insist on leaving me? Do you not understand? I will follow you where ever you go._

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Gee...I hope this Chapter didn't go by too quickly...please review!!! I can't make any adjustments until you tell me what you like or donn't like about it!

Note: The second section is about Sango. This story takes place in the US, it's not horribly important that it's in the States, but I still put it there. The deal is, when someone is suspect of murder, there is no plantiff, it's the state versus the defendent. Koharu is the district attorney, she is representing the state.

Inuyasha is being accused of murder. because his family doesn't have much money, he is given a state appointed lawyer, Sango, to represent him. She is chosen because she had proved herself a good lawyer, but because of her reputation she is forced to be an independent lawyer, making it hard for her to find jobs, that's why she lives in her car.

Okay? Have any questions? Please Review!


	3. Chapter Two

Thanks to the reviewers:

**xWhit3StaRx**:Thanks for the review, I'm glad you don't mind the fluffiness of the first chapter!

**Duzzie**: This fic was worth it! I'm so happy!starry eyed It isn't weird that you couldn't read fics for a while, happens to me all the time!

**waterandsky04**: Thanks for the review! I'm sorry the A's were confusing, I'm going to stop that.

**Kurai Okami**: Thanks! The review was very flattering! beams

**priestessmykala**: You like the mystery? Well this chapter is sure to get you in detective mode! Or at least...it has to my animespiral readers!! I'm glad you like the other elements of the story as well! Thanks for the review!

**fluffyearedinulvr**:Thanks for the two reviews! Sorry about the confusion, I'm trying to fix it, but it's not working so easily! Oh! Inuyasha got out because Chapter 2 takes place a few months after Chapter 1, sorry I didn't say that earlier!

**Black Phoenyx**- Thanks for the review...and all the betaing!! You're the best!

**Kagome1015**-Well...if you are still reading, he's already come! Thanks for the review!

Facts:

Chapter two was a few months after chapter one, that's why Inuyasha was out of jouvie.

This chapter is the same day as chapter two, it's just later on in the night. The events in chapter two took place around 4:00 PM, this chapter is around 7:00 PM any more questions?

Read, review, and enjoy!

Chapter Three:

A cold wind blew, and then the rain fell. She didn't actually feel the weather though, because she was inside. In fact, she was in a small café, sitting by the glass wall. She had a perfect view of the street. _Where is he? _She checked her watch for the tenth time in five minutes. _It's been an hour and he hasn't arrived yet. Is he busy? Did he forget about our date? I can't believe this!_ She put her head on the table and looked out the window. _I hate being alone, and he knows that. Does he not care how I feel? Is he cheating? Wait! Calm down Sango! You've been dating for over a year, he will show up._

She watched the cars pass in front of her. _None of these is his._ She rested her head in her palms and rested her elbows on the table. She sighed. _Well this is just great. They must think I'm nuts just sitting here, and for such a long time too! _She looked at the waiters and waitresses. She had memorized all their names by now.

"Someone sure looks fancy tonight." Her heart leaped. _He finally came_. She sat up and stared at the man who spoke to her. Her heart stopped.

"Miroku? What are you doing here?" She raised an eyebrow. She was already frustrated about waiting for so long, and now _he_ was here, standing in front of her.

"Well, I WAS going to eat with my girlfriend, but she was working tonight, so I decided to come here to grab a bite." He explained.

"Girlfriend? So that's why you didn't grope me today." She gave him a bored look and turned to face the street again.

"Mind if I sit here? I'll be good, I promise."

She looked up to face him. HE was wearing a smirk, proud of his little joke.

"Well actually, I was waiting for my date." She gave him a cool look. She played with a strand of her raven hair between her fingers.

"Oh, well then I'll leave. Nice seeing you again Sango." He bowed politely and turned around.

_He remembered my name?_ And before she knew it, she had begun to speak to him. "You know, I've been here for an hour now, I don't think he's coming. It's alright with me if you want to stay here."

He turned around. "Well, if I'm not intruding." He sat down in the metal-framed chair across from her.

_I'll ask how he remembered me later…_

"So why were you in that room earlier today. You do realize your not allowed to see that evidence unless your involved with the case, don't you?"

He smiled. "Of course I know that, but I was interested, so I went."

"You still sound like that care free 'monk in training' from high school" She smiled.

"Well, I still am the same person, even if I'm finally able to keep a girlfriend for more then a couple of hours."

"So…are you still, you know, training to be a monk?" She asked, partially interested.

"Well no actually." He looked out the window. "I gave that dream up, and now I'm doing crime scene investigation, but I guess you knew the last part from earlier today."

"So what, you understood a couple episodes of CSI, and now you think you can take on the job?" She asked a little harshly. She didn't mean to sound so angry, but seeing him again brought back too many memories that she would like to forget.

He looked a bit taken aback. "Well no, actually, I just thought I'd be good at it."

"Sorry…" She mumbled under her breath. He laughed.

"Still as proud as ever aren't you? Can't admit when your instincts fail you? It's not like it matters, I'd never pictured myself like this during high school, I didn't expect you to understand so soon anyway. I've changed a lot since you last talked to me."

She looked at his face, and then diverted her attention to her napkin. "So what interested you in my case?"

"Well, you mean besides you? Well, I don't know. Seeing an old friend's name was kind of exciting, but then I always knew that you were going to be successful and have some tough job like this."

They ordered their dinners. They sat in silence until their food was served.

In between bites of his spaghetti, he said, " But you know, your case has a lot in common with mine."

She looked up from her soup. "How so?" She twirled her spoon around the meal.

"Well, I think both cases involve hanyous."

"Oh really? What case are you working on?" She raised an eyebrow.

"No Man." He said casually.

_WHAT! NO MAN! BUT HOW? HE CAN'T HAVE BEEN WORKING FOR LONG, HE'S NOT THAT OLD! HOW COULD HE BE ON SUCH A HARD CASE ALREADY!_

Her eyes bulged as she stared at him. Her spoon was in her mouth, and it stayed there.

"Don't give me that look! I'm actually pretty good at my job, believe it or not!" He knew what she was thinking, thought by the tone of his voice; she knew he wasn't really offended. "Actually, I'm quite curious how I got this kind of job too. No one has really explained it to me just yet." He said as he wiped his mouth with the blue napkin.

She nodded, and removed the spoon from her mouth. "Well, that's interesting…so explain what this has to do with my case."

He put down his fork and looked up at her. "Well, if you really want to know…" He sat up straight and cleared his throat.

"Get to the point already Miroku!" She said, a little frustrated at his shenanigans.

He got back on track and began to explain, "Well, you know how I said that Inuyasha couldn't possibly be a guilty because he's a hanyou, right? With his hearing and speed, he could never be rushed. He could hear some one coming from a mile away, and could be gone in the blink of an eye."

"So what does this have to do with the No Man case?" She interrupted.

"Well, not much, but the thing is, there was a skid mark from a shoe left of the scene."

"So?" She tilted her head and gave him a quizzical look.

"Alright, let me explain." He paused to think. "We believe that the murderer is a hanyou. Why? Well it appears that he used the advantages of being one: He was always gone when people arrived at the scene of the time, and he was able to clean up any evidence. Of course, anyone could have cleaned up before someone got there, but the women had just died when the police got there. This proves that the murderer cleaned up quickly, so quickly that only a demon or hanyou could have done. Understand so far?" He asked.

She nodded, slightly confused by all the information.

"But, the real mystery is the shoe mark. It shows a sign of struggle. Alright, so we know the murderer is a hanyou or youkai. We can assume that the shoe mark is not his own, he cleans up tto well to have left a mess like that, he had to be in a panic to forget. SO we believe the shoe mark was caused by another hanyou or youkai. But the thing is, a youkai would have most likely left the scene of the crime. He wouldn't take the time to rescue the victim, he'd take revenge somewhere else, that's just how demons are. However, a hanyou might want to save the person. So then the murderer would have to kill them both to keep safe."

"Ughh this is confusing. The murderer is a hanyou or youkai, and so is the intruder, or whoever left the shoe mark. Am I following you alright?"

Miroku nodded. "So we believe the person who walked in was a hanyou because the fight took place, or the struggle I should probably say, took place inside. Why do we believe the murderer himself is a hanyou? Because any demon could easily beat a hanyou without leaving any signs, and whoever fought did leave signs…those scuff marks. So we can assume that they were both around the same strength. And well, that's all we've got so far."

She looked at him wide eyed. "Okay, I guess I understand it. The fight took place inside, because only a hanyou would care enough to save the victim. They two hanyous fought, and the intruder left the shoe mark."

"Well, we don't know that for sure."

"Don't know what?"

"That it was the intruder that left the mark, it could have been the murderer."

"Alright, then what kind of shoe was it that left the mark? Do you know?"

"A Converse, Chuck Taylor, size 12, made in the eighties." He said mechanically.

"AChuck made in the eighties, well that doesn't help much."

"Well no, but we can assume that one of those hanyous were older then, let's say 28 years old. According to my calculations. And that's all we have. Only problem is that converses are…unisex. Men and women buy the exact same shoe. Fortunately, there aren't many women with that size shoe…"

"Okay! That's enough. It was all very interesting, but I have my own case to focus on, it's not like this case will affect my life or anything!" She put her hand to her head and sighed. "You did a good job on profiling, but I have to focus on Inuyasha's safety."

Miroku nodded. And they finished their meal.

"Here's your receipt." The waiter placed the paper on the table.

"Shoot, I forgot to ask for separate ones." Sango snapped.

"It's okay, I'll pay it." Miroku said as he held the receipt up and looked for the price.

"I don't want to make you pay for me though."

"It's okay, I can afford it now that I have a good job." _Wish I could say the same._

"Well, thanks."

"No problem." He paid in cash and they walked out together.

"Nice to see you again." She waved and walked to her car.

"You know, it would be nice to do this again sometime!" Miroku yelled lightly from a distance. She waved to show that she had heard him_. This is so weird…like a reunion or something…_

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""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""(This is the only mark that will actually save...)_

With Inuyasha:

He stood under the streetlight, naught but a silhouette against the bright light. _How could I have thought for even a second that this would be a good idea? I'm sure Kagome hates me now, but why am I feeling so bummed? I couldn't possibly miss her could I? Of course no! She's just some girl…she doesn't mean anything to me!_

He jammed his hands in his pocket, trying to forget any of his sad emotions.

The street was empty, not a single car, or a single person going down the street.

It was dark now, and the only thing that was illuminating the ground before him was the dreary glow of the streetlamps. _Well gee, if this isn't depressing… _

He tried to get Kagome off of his mind, and began to contemplate his situation. _In a week I'll be going to court. They're accusing me of murder…puh-lease, like I'd do something like that. I know I've bullied a lot of people around, but I'd never kill anyone. But I guess the police don't know that about me huh? Guess that's just my luck. My fucking rotten luck! _

_HE shook with anger. Kouga! That bastard! I bet he thinks I didn't hear him before I walked up! So he's been pitting Kagome against me? Why does he even care about her? She's not his type…is she? He better not try anything on her, or he'll have me to talk_ _to! Whatever, next time I see him I'll have his ass! First he frames me for murder, then he tries to trick my girl! My girl? Where in hell did that come from? SHIT! INUYASHA! STOP THINKING ABOUT KAGOME OR IT WILL BE THE END OF YOU! _He pulled at the ends of his hair and looked at his surroundings, he had been walking the whole time.

_Kagome's house? What am I doing here? He shook his head. Am I actually feeling a little guilty? Should I apologize to her or something huh? No! I will no-yes, yes I should shouldn't I? I mean she has done a lot for me…_

Before he realized it, he was ringing the doorbell.

"Hello?" A middle-aged woman had opened the door. He recognized her as Kagome's mother, though she was older than she was the last time he had seen her.

"Mrs. Higurashi? Hi I'm Inu- ACK" He felt himself being pulled into a bear hug.

"Inuyasha! It's been such a long time since we've seen you, come in, come in!" She dragged him into the living room by the arm. _I can't believe she remembered me, it seems like such a long time since I last saw her._

In the living room there were to sofas and an entertainment center, very simple, just like he had remembered it. There was a Play Station and video games scattered on the floor. Must be Souta's. Where is the little runt anyways?

"Inuyasha!" He spun around, only to see a young boy rush into him. He was squeezed at the waist, and he stared the kid. _Could this be little ole Souta? Two years, it seems like forever since I last saw any of them…_

He rustled the boy's hair a bit and looked up at Kagome's mom. "Uh…um...is Kagome around?" He hoped he wasn't blushing, but he suddenly felt embarrassed just by saying her name.

Mrs. Higurashi gave him a skeptical look. "No, she hasn't been around. Would you like to wait for her? You're more then welcome to eat some dinner with us." She smiled warmly at him, just like she used to when he came over.

"You mean she's not home? What about her curfew!" He exploded.

Mrs. Higurashi rested a hand on her hip and giggled. "Inuyasha, I know you haven't been here for a few years, but didn't you consider that maybe her curfew was moved back a little later? She's almost an adult, plus the fact that she is very responsible."

"Oh, I didn't consider that…" He looked down and studied the ground.

"You're welcome to stay if you like hun."

"Uh…no I gotta go." He gave her a quick hug and said his goodbyes. _Now where could she be? Please don't tell me she's all sad about what I told her! I hope she isn't doing anything stupid!_

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Earlier that night, with Kagome:

She walked down the street with a little pep in her step_. Inuyasha's game will be fun. He thinks I'll leave him alone because he's being mean…well obviously he doesn't understand me that well._

She didn't know what she was going to do, but she'd definitely get his attention some how…

She sighted a familiar pair of overalls_. Is that the new janitor? I sure think so. _She walked up to the man who was ahead of her on the sidewalk. "Excuse me sir?" He turned to face her, his eyes glazed over. "Are you the new janitor?"

His red eyes brightened. "Yes ma'am, I most certainly am." He smiled at her.

She held out her hand and introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Kagome, I go to the school that you work at."

_Kagome… _He extended his long, bony fingers. "Onigumo, pleasure to meet you"

"Would you like to get some ice cream with me?"

"That would be just…lovely." His eyes danced.

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""(Oh yea, I have to put these up, the normal marks aren't being saved on

With Shippo: (Yes, I decided to add Shippo, but in this story, he's an adult.)

He was hidden behind his paper; all that was visible of him was a tuft of his red hair.

He looked across the parlor.

_There he is. My man!_ He was staring at a man sitting near the window. He was wearing dirty overalls. _Filthy animal, that's what he is. _The man's dark, wavy hair was pulled into a loose ponytail. The hair was oily and matted.

_And then…there's that girl. _She was wearing a high school uniform. Her hair was dark and wavy and framed her face perfectly. _I hope he doesn't hurt her; she's pretty cute for such a creepy man. What is she doing around him? Does she not see the lustful glances he is giving her? Should I do something? I know I was ordered not to, but what if she gets hurt?_

He folded his paper and held it between his arm and side. He stood up, nodded at the 'cashier' and left through the glass door.

Well that's it, chapter three. I really hadn't planned on adding Shippo in this one, but I just thought up the perfect role for him

My beta reader has informed me that I should furthur explain Miroku and Sango's cases. Well, just in case you thought so too...you'll just have to wait for the next chapter. So, until nextime!

demonspawn666

Please review, I know I only have ten, but that makes me incredibly happy anyways! If I haven't answered your question completely, feel free to ask it again, I'll try harder the second time around!!!


	4. Chapter Three

Thanks to the reviewers...I'm only responding to the Chapter three reviewers 'cause I'm really lazy...sorry to those of you who are left out and sorry to those of you who I've misspelled the names of, please cry evil smile

**The Evil Liar**- Hmmm...many people have come out and asked me why...let's just say that Kagome is one of those people who are nice to everyone. She likes to welcome the new students...and the new employees of the school...make sense? Thanks for the review!

**xHikari-808x**- Why did the janitor call Kagome 'mother'? Well...It wasn't a mistake of mine, guess you'll just have to keep reading ; )

**shan-** For starters....I know it's confusing when I switch to new characters...I only do that because I'm trying to reveal their characters furthur along in the story. Sorry for all the confusion. Thanks for the suggestions! Why was Inu in jouvie? well...it's vaguely stated in this chapter, I'll explain a little more later on, please keep reading!

**Lady Akina**- Yea, Kouga did frame Inuyasha...you got it! And the 'cashier' thing, let's just say...that wasn't really a cashier!

**Apri-Chan-** Thanks for the review! I'm glad you like it! And...I'm flattered!

**Black-Fire Eclipse-**Um...thanks for the review! I'd say more, but it's not like you had any questions or anything...

**priestessmykala**-Err...um, Kool I guess! Thanks for the review! : )

**Cassiopeia91- W**ell...even though people tend to form cliques(Whether or not they realize it) I decided that wasn't the approach I wanted for this story. It's about people...well a little more than that, but...I'm focusing more on their feelings then their habits...get what I'm saying? No. Damn...

* * *

Chapter Four: The Next Morning

He was kicking a can down the street. _Where the hell was she? I understand that her curfew's changed, but I need to talk to her! _He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked up in the sky._ I thought that when I finally got out of that hellhole I would have some fun. But ever since Kagome went to visit me I've been all depressed. What's wrong with me? I didn't think of her that much while I was in jouvie, but now...she's all I can think about. She was the only one to come in and visit me, and I treated her like shit. I have to talk to her. Kagome, where are you?_

He brushed his silver hair behind his ear. _Well, I guess I'll see her at school today. _He looked down at his black school uniform. It was new; the ones he wore before he was in jouvie were too small now.

_Where am I going anyways? I don't want to go to school now. My teacher will make me do homework or something, that Chemistry crap is hard..._

He continued to mope as he walked towards the outskirts of the city, to his school. Step by slow step. He wanted to get away from everything, but he couldn't let go. _I'm tired of my brother, of my 'family and friends'! I'm sick of my teachers, my school, and my probation officer! But if I leave...what happens to Kagome? What if she gets hurt? It will be all my fault, I once told her that I'd always protect her, can I let her down now? No, that would be wrong. I've made enough mistakes…_

He rounds a street corner; there he found Kouga. He was in the center of his little gang. Inuyasha assumed they were all laughing at some 'hilarious' joke of his…

He saw Kouga close his mouth and glare at him. Inuyasha matched his stare with a gleam of his own. Soon the whole gang was staring at Inuyasha.

"Why you- get away from Kouga you shit head! All you do is bother our leader!" Said a small punk. He appeared to be just a freshman, a small freshman at that. Obviously he didn't know Inuyasha very well.

"Oh, so he's your leader now…that's cute." Inuyasha chuckled. He walked up to the crowd.

The freshman's eyes widened. "I said get away! No one speaks about Kouga like that!"

Inuyasha ran to the boy. Apparently he wasn't even seen moving, judging by the expression on the kid's face. He was a hanyou after all, quite fast. The boy gulped and held out his fists in a fighting stance. "Do you actually expect to beat me punk?" Inuyasha smirked. "You may be a youkai, but you didn't see me run up to you. If you think you can beat me as slow as you are, well, I guess you could give it a try…but you won't even touch me."

The boy's cheeks darkened and he swung at the hanyou. "Grr… I will not take any of this!" He growled. However, he missed, Inuyasha had dodged. He froze. He obviously had no experience in fighting with hanyou or youkai; he could only beat humans. That skill alone was not enough for him now. He knew that now, it was written all over his face.

"Inuyasha, leave the kid alone, it's me you want." Kouga pushed through his friends. "Ginta, come watch a professional."

Inuyasha, being as impatient as he is, swung first and aimed for Kouga' s face. However, the youkai dodged it easily. "Too slow." The angry hanyou sent several strong punches in Kouga' s way, but he missed every time. "Inuyasha, I thought you were better then this, obviously you've gotten a little rusty.

Inuyasha's eyes glinted; a red fury was growing in them. Kouga new he was making his opponent mad, his eyes danced. Kouga gracefully picked his foot up and kicked Inuyasha in the jaw. "Shit!" Inuyasha raised his hand to his chin.

The group of youkais laughed. Their master was winning the fight. They looked upon Kouga with pride.

"I wouldn't laugh if I were you." Kouga yelled at them. They suddenly became silent and gave Kouga a quizzical look. "You don't know him as I do. You don't know him for what he used to be. He USED to be my greatest challenge. But then he became soft. Soft for a human." Kouga cracked his knuckles and sent a devilish look towards Inuyasha.

"If my memory serves me correct, you fancy Kagome. Am I right Kouga?" Inuyasha challenged.

"Not nearly as much as you. But even so, I didn't become soft and stupid as you did."

Inuyasha fumed. _If that bastard is going to feel anythingfor Kagome, he will not mock her!_

"Don't be stupid Kouga!" He yelled. "You just haven't had a worthy opponent in a while, but deep down, you're just as soft as a Beagle's nut sac." (That line came from my conceptual theorist, my big bro, AKA Butt Mole…no he doesn't have a pen name)

Kouga stopped himself as he was about to swing at Inuyasha's stomach. "…Beagle's nut sac?"

Inuyasha shrugged, smirked, and then slammed Kouga' s face in.

"Hey you-you cheated" Ginta stuttered. A small line of blood trickled down from the crease of Kouga' s mouth.

"Damn Inuyasha, what are you so worked up about? Girl problems? What? Don't tell me you're not getting any!" He cracked a smile as he dodged an incoming blow. "Or is it that Kagome's still upset with you? She should be, you've caused her nothing but trouble." Inuyasha froze.

_He's right, that's all I've done, cause her trouble. And didn't I tell my self that I wouldn't hurt her again? ...I think she likes Kouga…if I hurt him she'll get upset. So does that mean that right now I'm fighting a loosing battle?_

He stood there as Kouga kicked him and punched him. "What's a matter now dog boy? Oh, so you're not talking. I guess that since you've been in jouvie all these years you think your stronger then me. Well that's not it you're just dumber then us, to let yourself get caught like that. And just to let you know." He punched Inuyasha in the chest for the third time. "I will make Kagome mine…she's already softening up to me. She's given up on your reckless ass!"

That made Inuyasha mad_. No one talks about Kagome like that. No one will 'make her theirs' as long as I'm here to stop it!_

He punched Kouga in the face, harder than the first time. The youkai quickly fell to his knees. "Wha?" He questioned as he stared at the furious hanyou.

"First I do something on your behalf. I help you beat off those jerks at the car show. And then when I get caught, you don't back me up, even though you knew I only got in that fight to help your sorry ass!" He punched Kouga in the stomach. "And then you go and frame me for this murder that you committed!" He slammed his elbow onto Kouga' s left shoulder, breaking it easily. The youkai hadn't moved since he had first fallen. "And to make things worse!" Inuyasha continued. "I don't even know who this kid you murdered is! Why would I want to kill anyone anyways? I may not be nice, nor do I have the best rep, but murder isn't my style. And besides, this Houjo guy that you killed, he was the first nice guy who actually took interest in Kagome. I knew I couldn't have her, I don't deserve her, and you certainly don't either, but he did! In fact!" He punched Kouga' s cheek. "He's the only person I'd behappy with her ending up with! Because what I _did_ know is that he was a nice kid, who liked Kagome for decent reasons, not for her ass!"

Kouga' s friends flung themselves at Inuyasha, though the angry hanyou brushed each of them away. Inuyasha took one last swing at the youkai' s chest and turns away. _Shit, I didn't mean to do that much! _He straightened his tie and walked towards the school_. I'm in so much shit now if anyone finds out about this!_

And then he heard himself yell. "And leave Kagome alone! She's not ment for you!"

"And what about you? Was she ment for you?" He could hear Kouga spit out through the blood in his mouth

_She's not ment for me either…_

* * *

She was eating her breakfast, dried Frosted Flakes with a cup of orange juice. She jumped when she heard a loud thud from outside. She looked outside the window, nothing unusual. She could tell it was a few streets down, but that didn't matter. There was construction going on over there. In fact, she had just gotten used to all the noise that it made. She just found it odd that they were making noise this early in the morning.

She shrugged and put her dishes up.

She walked up the stairs and into her room. The sun lighted it up even though the lamp was not turned on. "What a nice day." She smiled and walked to her open closet, and there she grabbed her uniform.

She buttoned the plaid skirt at her waistline, and tucked in her white blouse. "Now, where did I put my vest?" She asked herself as she dug around her messy room. "Ah ha! She raised the cloth in triumph and slid it on over her head. "I better hurry up!" She reminded her self as she sat on her bed. She slid on her socks. Then she put her hand under her bed and grabbed her loafers for school. She slid them on, grabbed her backpack, and rushed out of her room.

"Oh sweetie, you're leaving now?" Her mother kissed her on the forehead. "Have a nice day." She smiled at her mother and nodded. She walked to her father who was reading the morning paper.

"Do good in school girl, and make sure your brother actually goes there today. He's playing at a friend's house, but it's on your way to school so…you know what to do." She nodded and kissed him on the cheek. It was always her job to drag him to school, and she knew that.

"Bye!" She waved as she walked out of the door.

"Bye." Her parents said in unison as she walked out.

She looked ahead of her and walked towards the school. She turned on the street where her brother would surely be. She hummed as she walked furthur down the street. "Broth-!" She stopped yelling when she felt something under her shoe. "Eww! I stepped in gum this early in the morning? This' s just great!" She lifted up her foot. And to her surprise the sticky substance was not gum...it was blood.

Her jaw trembled as she looked at the red ground before her. "Oh my God!?" She looked around, only to find her brother. He was lying on the ground face down. His skateboard was lying under his ankles. His back was torn and bloody, covered with bullet holes. Blood was dripping from his open mouth. "No." She whispered. "No." She said a little louder. "No. No!" She yelled and then burst into tears. "This isn't happening!" She covered her eyes and ran off. "Help someone, please! Help me!" She flailed her arms about her. _I have to be dreaming! This can't be happening...No..._

"Wake me up!" She yelled. "Can't wake up!"_What? This isn't my voice?_ "Call my name and save me from the dark!" _What, who is this?_ She heard music. _Where am I? This isn't coming from me!_ She flung her arms around. She was surrounded, but where was she? _Help!_ She wanted to scream, but her voice wouldn't come to her. _My brother's been shot! He's dying! Help me! Help him! Where are my parents! Where am I!_

She could feel herself sweat. She was panicking.

(Confused? Just keep reading…)

* * *

He slammed his hand down on the noisy alarm clock. _Ugg...it's too early in the morning! _He smung his legs off the side of his bed and scratched the back of his head. He rubbed his eyes and stood up. He cracked his back and stretched his arms. "Better hurry up or I'll be late to work again."

He walked across the hall and to the kitchenette. The fluorescent light was on, and had been on all night long. The pale green countertops reflected the light. He shaded his eyes and walked towards the refrigerator. He grabbed the loaf of bread that was sitting on the top of the large appliance. "When I get paid I am so gonna eat better then this. Sheesh, toast for breakfast, I feel poor." But the truth was, he wasn't poor. There were people much worse off then him, he was just used to living in luxury like he did in his parents' home.

He ate the bread once it was warmed. It tasted dry, he didn't appreciate it much. He then proceeded to find his car keys.

_Where the hell did I put those things! _He dug through the kitchen drawers. _I'm going to be so very late now! Shit! _He frantically dug through the mess on the living room floor.

"Wait a minute." He stood up and walked to the shelf by the front door. "There they are." They were resting on the shelf, next to the pictures he had of his family.

He took a moment to look at the photos.

There was his friends all grouped in a graduation photo. They were all smiling brightly, they were each flashing a bright smile. _That was a good day. _He picked the image up and looked at each of his friends. Heheld it up to the light so that he could see it better. A slip fell from the back of the frame. "What's this?" Hebent down to pick the picture up. Heturned it over, and was noe looking at a teenage girl. She looked sad, she wore a frown and was looking down at the ground.

Her dark brown hair covered her eyes. It was long, it reached her waist. She was wearing a maroon sweater and black jeans. She looked so very sad. _Why do I still have this picture of Sango? And why was she so sad that day? I can't remember... _He slipped it behind the graduation photo, where he had found it.

He looked to the next picture. _Koharu... _It was his girlfriend. She adored him, more than any girl ever had before. He loved her so much now. She was the reason he had moved to this new town, so he could be with her while she worked on her case. She was the District Attorney after all, she had to go where ever she was needed. _I love you Koharu, but I remember, in high school, there was this girl much different from you...I think I might love her more..._

He shook his head and looked at the next picture, his mother. She was smiling brightly. Her black hair framed her face perfectly, her midnight blue dress allowed her beautifully pale skin to stand out. _Mother, I miss you... If only I could see you smile like that again._ He bit his lip and looked to the next frame. In the picture there was a tall man. He was holding Miroku's mother by the waist and smiling. She was smiling too, they both looked happy. "That lying bastard...he said he loved her, but if he did, how could he do that!" Miroku found himself getting angry. He turned the picture face down so he could calm down. _Chill out, he's gone now. _

He clenched his wrists and walked out of the door.

He walked out of his apartment and walked into his car. It was a new Ford Mustang. He'd worked hard for that car, saved all through high school. This was his first car even though he was in his twenties. He drove quickly to the parking garage. It was only a couple of miles away. He didn't even listen to music, he just stared at the road.

He quickly got out of the garage. _I will not be late! I've barely had this kob for a week! _He jogged past the fast foos restraunt in order to get to his work. Then he noticed an old Saturn with blood stains on the windows. "What the hell!" He quickly dashed to the car. _I don't care if I'm late, someone might be hurt!_

He quickly opened the door, exposing a crying Sango who was lying in a fetile position. Her hands were bleeding, her legs were cut, and she was sobbing uncontrolably.

"What the hell happened!"He yelled as he grabbed her in his arms. He slid himself onto her seat and held her on his lap. "Sango, are you okay!"

She didn't even seem to notice him. She was whispering something, repeatedly, but he could not hear. He leaned his ear forward to understand her.

"Help him! Help him! He's dying!" She whispered as she was shaking. He noticed that she was asleep...dreaming perhaps.

"Sango! Sango calm down! It's alright! No one is dying!" He lightly shook her.

She opened her eyes and looked for the voice screaming her name. _Miroku?..._And it was. "Miroku!" She hugged him tightly. "I saw Kohaku die again! I was so scared! And I went to call for help...and then there, there was this music!" She fell into tears again and cried into his chest. He raised an eyebrow.

_Music? _He looked at the CD player, "Let's see..." He said to himself as he pressed the eject button. "Evenescence? Well, maybe that's what you heard." He tried to comfort her.

_Wait...now I remember why she was so sad when I took that picture. Her brother had been shot that day. He had died...she had found him..._

In his arms was the same girl that was in the picture, a sad, broken girl, who needed someone. And once again, he wouldmake an effort to be that person.

"Please go."

"What?" He looked down at the woman on his lap.

"Please go."

"But-but you're hurt!"

"I hurt myself when I was dreaming. I was waving for help in my dream, and I waved in this car too. I must have beaten up my wrists on the windows. I'm okay." She picked herself up and steppe dout of the car. "I'll clean up, please go."

_What a change in emotions... _He got up, smiled, and walked to work. He had learned to listen to her, if anyhting after all the years he'd known her. _She'll be okay...she's strong. I just can't believe she hurt herself in a dream. Maybe she needs help... _

Or maybe she just need someone to love her and not walk away.

* * *

* * *

_Is it morning already? _She slowly opened her eyes. She looked out of the window. The sun was awfully high in the sky. _What time is it? Why didn't mom wake me up yet? _Kagome rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She streched her arms and got out of bed, the cold wood floor shocked her. Not because it was cold...because her bed room didn't have a wooden floor.

_Where am I!_ She looked around the gloomy room. There was a bear light bulb on the ceiling, it appeared to be burnt out. The sun was the only thing lighting up the room. She squinted her eyes and looked at the wall. _What the hell? A shrine? Of...me? _On the wall were hundreds of pictures of her. She was smiling. She was posed for each picture, dancing or sitting daintily. She was holding small children in some, and was surrounded by adults in others.

But it wasn't her either. She'd never met any of those people, and never worn any of those clothes, so who was that?

And on the the dresser there was a mold of her face. _Clay? What, what is all of this? _She walked up to the mold. Its face was slightly mishappen, but it was still clearly her. The hair was a mess. It looked like separatepatches of hair were glued on around the skull. And eachpatch was slightly a different color.

She assumed the groups of hair were different horse tails. _How gross! _She reached out to hold one. _This is awfully smooth to be horse hair. _She ran the hair through her hands. ._In fact, it almost feels human . _She reached for her ponytail to compare.

Her eyes widened. _What the-? I have no hair! _She grabbed at her hair, but it had been...cut off? _What? Who? How? _She pulled out the scuncci and her now short hair fell around her face. _Where did it all go! _She held what was left of her hair between her fingers.

She looked at one of the groups of hair near the ear. She could see a string for the scuncci that had, at one time, held her hair up. _Oh no, don't tell me.._

It appeared that each bunch of hair on the mold wa sin fact human, but it wasn't all hers, so...

"Eek!" She lightly screeched. _Where am I? _She looked down at her body._ I wasn't wearing this yesterday! I've never seen this outfit before! _She pulled at the dress.

She was panicking now. She ran out of the room. "Where am I?" She whispered to herself. She looked at the next room witch seemed to be a living room. And there was the front door! She could see the street from outside the window.

She quickly ran to the door. She tried to steady her hands so that she could hold the door knob. _Gotta get out, gotta get out! _She chanted to herself as she struggled to pull the heavy door open. "Kyyyah!" She yanked the door open and looked out of the street. _I have to get home! Call the police! _She could feel her heart leap as she took her first steps out. _But where do I go? _

But she wouldn't have to make that decision now. She felt a cold hand cover her mouth.

"Such a noisy girl. If you don't shut up I might get in trouble, and you wouldn't want that now would you?" Came a haunting voice from behind her. She nodded her head. _Agree with the enemy, maybe he won't hurt you!_

She felt the cold blade of a knife at her neck_. Shit! _

* * *

* * *

With Miroku:

He'd just hung up his phone as he walked into the office. _Whick one of Koharu's friends saw me with Sango? Great, now she's all mad at me! I can't go any where with out someone spying on me!_...and that was his only qualm with her. She didn't trust him one bit, and that annoyed him, it really ticked him off.

He walked into the main hallway, he was definately late for work now.

"Miroku!" He looked up at Mr. Shippo. : )

"Yes sir?" He asked guiltily, he knew he was in trouble.

"You've practically been given a free ride! We've given you a home, helped you pay for your flashy car, and even given you a decent job! You could at least work up to you responsibility! You're an important part of this case, you have to some on time from now on, and you have to be prepared to do your job!"

_That reminds me... _"Why is it so important that I take this job?"

The red haired man looked down. "No reason in particular." He nodded his head, as if clearing his own answer.

"There must be some reason!" Miroku yelled.

Shippo looked to the left and to the right. Then he leaned in, close to Miroku's ear. "Look, all I know is that you and the murderer have suffered the same kind of trauma. No one understands them, so the guys high up there thought that you might." Shippo backed up. Looked both ways, and walked down the hall to his office.

_Trauma? Could them mean...? But that wasn't anything physical, why would they care about that anyways?_

* * *

* * *

And that's it! Yes...i know it was a lilttle rushed...sorry!

Sorry for the spelling mistakes!

I hope some little things were cleared up! Inuyasha was put in jouvie because Kouga wouldn't tell anyone that Inuyasha injured some people in self defense...If that doesn't make enough sense...please give ask me the question again, I'll try to answer it! And yea...I know I've been kinda stubborn with that so far...sorry!

Please R & R ...I wanna hear the good, the bad, and the ugly!


	5. Chapter Four

Thanks to (Sorry if I misspelled any pen names):

**Black Phoenyx**- Quit being so whiney! Haha! lol... You're the best, so decided to update!

**Suaru**- Thanks for the review...I guess this chappie will explain things a little better...maybe

**Animeobsessed3191**- I take it you liked the chappie! I'm glad. Yea...sorry for the spelling mistakes.

**Cute Miko**-Well, I'm afraid most of it's gone now. But hey! It's still about five inches long. She's young, if she lives, it'll grow back pretty fast.

**The Evil Liar**-She is betaing it... I just screwed it up somehow. Look at me, even with a beta reader I still screw things up...I suck.

**luvinukagome**-lol. Creepy? Well that's good, I was aiming for horror, or at least mildly, whatever works.

Disclaimer: What do you think? Honestly...people these days...

Chapter Five:

"Naraku," She chirped. That was her cute little nickname for him. The young adolescent looked up at her. Her face was illuminated by her bright smile. Her slick ebony hair was pulled into a bun. Loose hairs framed her face. To him, she looked so beautiful. Her arms were bruised after her beating from the other day. He didn't understand why anyone would want to hurt her, but he didn't mind it.

He straightened his shirt and looked into his narrow eyes. Narrow. Angry. Sad. Her eyes were always the same, even when she was smiling like she was now. But those eyes made her beautiful. That's how he could recognize her, always. He wanted to see those eyes.

She grinned, he embraced her, his mother. She wiped the tears from his eyes, and then her own. "It's okay, dad was nice this time, only a few bruises, no blood."

"I'm so glad!" He smiled into her shirt. He'd been really worried about her. "What was he mad about?" She dragged her fingers through his curly hair. "Well?"

"Nothing sweetie." She replied as she rubbed his back to comfort him, to sooth him.

He pulled his head up. "It had to be something…it's always something."

Her hands stopped moving. She gripped his arm. "Well…if you must know…" Her hold on his arm tightened. "He was angry because the kitchen was a mess when he woke up. The dishes hadn't been done." Her grip on his arm tightened more. It almost hurt him. "But if I remember correctly," She paused, " You're the one who dirtied those dishes."

She grabbed his hair with her other hand and began to lightly tug at it.

"Sorry mom." He whispered. He ignored the growing pain; it wasn't the first time this had happened.

"Oh don't worry Naraku, it wasn't anyone's fault," Her grip tightened even more. He could feel her nails puncture his skin. "But yours! It's always your fault! You don't do the dishes! You don't clean up your mess!" She let go of his arm and pulled him across the room by his hair. His skull was on fire, she was pulling him faster then he was moving.

"Mom." He began meekly. "Shut your mouth!" She slapped him. Her eyes were angry, that single emotion prevailed. But he preferred them another way. "You always cause me trouble! Do you like seeing me get hurt by that bastard?" She screamed as she dragged him towards the kitchen.

His lips curved into a smile.

She pointed to the sink. "See this? This isn't mine! But then, whose could it be?" She motioned towards the pile of dirty dishes. She yanked a drawer open roughly. It made a loud clang. She frustratedly began digging for something.

"Mom, I don't think that's a good idea." He said mockingly, as she pulled out a cutting knife.

"Don't tell me what's a good idea, you brat! You don't know anything!"

He smiled. "You know what Dad'll do when he finds out." He said calmly.

Something flickered in her eyes. Fear. But the anger burst through them again. 'That bastard isn't going to find out anything!' "I don't give a fuck! That bastard can go to hell for all I care! I'm leaving him, you, this house...hell, I'm leaving this whole miserable life!" She shakily brought the knife to her son's throat. 'It'll all be over soon...alll of my problems.'

He felt the cold metal cut through his skin. It was slow. The itchy pinch against his skin soon became dull pain. He kept a smile on his face as his eyes glazed over.

'I can't believe this! The little freaks enjoying this!' She thought to herself as she applied more pressure to the knife.

He loved seeing her all fired up like this. He loved this pain, so wonderfully bitter, so...erotic. He was some how aroused, this is what he wanted so very much. "You'd better stop." He mocked the angry woman.

She stopped and stood up straight. A tear fell down her cheek. 'What am I doing?!?! This is my child!' She slowly backed up, step be painfully slow step. She felt the cold counter against her legs. 'But...why am I backing up? Is it because he's smiling at me like that? Why is he doing that!' Fear crossed her eyes once more.

He pulled the knife from his neck, it had barely broken the skin. 'Man, how slow was she gonna kill me?' He held the knife in his hand and walked up to her."Mom, why so you look so scared? Are you afraid of Dad?" He raised an eyebrow. "...or are you afraid of me?" He licked his thin lips. 'Mom...' He threw the knife at the paralyzed woman. She was too confused in her own thoughts to dodge. She HAD been in a trance, but not any more. The knife was jamme din her throat. "Perfect Aim." He chuckled to himself.

She coughed. She looked puzzled. Her body heaved forward with the next cough. She raised her hands to her mouth. 'Blood?' She began to feel light headed. The dark liquid slowly dripped from the corner of her mouth.

The floor was now speckled with flecs of blood. 'I'm dying now aren't I?' She felt her eyes roll up, her body fell down. 'Well...now I'm leaving everything like I said I was....It's about time.' Her eyes closed for the last time.

He stood there looking at her. He now understood the excitiment his father got ouit of hurting her. She was so...pitiful. Such a sad specimen. But those eyes! Their sadness had appeared just before she died...the side of them he liked. Despite the utensil in her neck, she looked most beautiful before death. That sadness...that anguish...he liked that.

But this was just a memory- a dream of what had once happened. Now he was holding that annoying girl by her neck. He'd been sleeping quite peacefully, dreaming of that day when... "Kagome...you should learn to be more silent."

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She sat in her car. She was staring at the window, tracing the blood- her blood. 'How could I have gotten out of control like that? It's not the first time I've dremt of Kohaku's death! What got me so fried up this time?" She grabbed a bottle of water, and a jacket that was lying on the front seat. She poured the temperate water on the cloth and began to wipe away the blood. "How could I haev hurt myself like this without waking up?" She stared at her bloody fist.

She shook her head. "I have to stop thinking about this and work on the case. Inuyasha's life is at stake!" She allowed her mind to drift to that situation. 'Inuyasha doesn't have the best past. I mean, he was involved in a gang, but that doesn't automatically make him guilty of some kind of crime. The bad part is that the D. A. has evidense against him. He said this Kouga guy framed him. That makes me mad! It's one thing for gangs to fight, but to kill- that's a whole other issue! That' s when innocent people get involved...like my beloved brother. Other gangs are always prepared, they don't die. They know danger is coming, but innocent people- they are unaware and unprotected! Just like that Houjo guy who's dead.' (There's more of my effed up reasoning, like it?)

Her blood boiled. 'If this Kouga guy is anything like the person who killed Kohaku...he will die.' She shook her head. 'Sango! Be reasonable! You beleive that no one has the right to kill but God, you've always believed that.' She shook her head. 'What was I thinking? First I cry in MIROKU'S arms, I promised myself I'd never do that again, and then I think of getting someone killed. What's wrong with me? Is this case hitting too close to home? Should I stop? Will Inuyasha be safe without me? Would his new lawyer see the truth as I see it? So clearly in his innocent eyes...'

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"Kagome...you should learn to be more silent."

'Who is that? How does he know my name?' She was confused. First she wakes up in a strange house, and now her life is in danger. 'That voice, I've heard it before, but it isn't exactly familiar.'

She felt the thin blade dig into her flesh. "Oww!" The sharp sting was unprepared for. She knew the knife was there, but she hadn't expected him to use it. 'That's it, I'm going to die now aren't I?'

"Be cooperative please." the voice from behind her was quite calm.

"Please stop! Why do you want to hurt me?" She twisted herself around to face him, the knife lightly cutting her around the neck. He hadn't been using much force to keep her still. He wasn't expecting her to resist.

Her eyes widened when she saw his pale face, his oily curls, his thin, slimy lips. 'The janitor! What is he doing here?'

He stood still. 'She actually has the gaul to turn around when a knife is at her neck? No one has ever resisted death like this, never in my hands.'

"Sir, why are you trying to kill me? All I did was treat you to icecream."

Her eyes were big and pleeding. She wasn't scared, or at least she wasn't showing it. That wasn't what he thought they'd be like. They were curious, but alarmed. 'In fact,' He thoguht. 'The last time I'd seen them, they were happy. Well...this won't do, I'll have to change that. Though with someone like her, it might take some time.' He let go of her.

"Now why'd you let me go? You don't make any sense!" She yelled at him in frustration.

'What? Now she's mad that I didn't kill her?' "I...have plans for you." He smiled, a rather disturbing smile.

'Great...now he's gonna rape me or something worse. I thought I'd be dead, now I'm going to suffer for some weird reason. I'd rather be dead.'

(No, Kagome didn't want to die, she was just 'cought up in the moment')

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He was writing the answer for the last question. Chemistry wasn't really his forte, but then again that's why he was taking it for the second time. And because this was his second time around, he was working exceptionally hard at it. He licked his lips as he wrote the last word. 'Finally! That sure took me long enough.' He stood up and stretched his arms.

He was in the library, it was after school so most everyone was at home already. He walked to the window. The library was on the second floor so he had an over view of the walkway outside. 'Like I thoguht, not a single soul.' He went back to the table and grabbed his things.

"Ooh, better not forget this!" He grabbed the camera he'd brought to school. He needed it here for two reasons: he was taking photography class, and he took pictures for the school newspaper.

He took one last look outside, no one there. He walked out into the empty hall. The school was really quiet after four, kind of creepy. He walked down the stair well and onto the walkway.

'You know...someone wanted to write an article about the weather and plants around school...' He looked at the old oaks at the side of the school. 'Well, my camera is set for taking color pictures, but that doesn't matter, the picture can be changed.' he shrugged his shoulders and photographed random shots of the ancient trees.

And then he saw her. Sango. The girl he liked. But she hadn't been to school at all that day. She stood there, in between the oak trees. She was staring at nothing, but her eyes looked so full of thought. She was zoned out. She looked...sad.

But the thing is, Sango never looked sad, or at lest Miroku had never seen her look that way. In fact, he'd never seen her look in any way vulnerable at all. So why'd she look that way now? Was her tough exterior at school just an act? Or did something bad happen...?

He took a picture of her, she didn't seem to notice. 'Hmm...that's odd.' She'd always seemed so perceptive around him, she was always aware of the things around her. So he decided to find out what was wrong.

"Sango." He called lowly. He thought she looked upset so he didn't want to take a very direct approach. "Sango?" She hadn't seemed to have heard him.

He slowly walked up to her. He was actually in front of her now, and she seemed to be looking through him, like he was just air. That hurt, it hurt him a lot.

'The girl I like doesn't even noticce me when there's no one else around. Guess there's no hope for me after all.'

He was about to walk off when he noticed something. A tear. A tear was slowly sliding down her face. "M-Miroku..." She trailed off. She latched onto him, holding herself tightly against him. crying into his chest. "Ko-Kohaku's dead!"

His eyes widened. 'Kohaku...that's her brother.' He patted her back. "It's okay Sango." 'I'll be here for you, I love you.'

"MIroku! Miroku!" He looked up. But he wasn't at school anymore, and the girl in front of him was not Sango. "Miroku! I know you've been working hard and all, and you're probably tired, but you could at least look a littel excited while we're on a date!" Koharu plopped down across the table from him. "What were you thinking about anyway? You looked so caught up."

'I was thinking about the girl I loved. The girl I love. The girl that loved me at one point- before I blew it.' He mentally slapped himself before responding. "Nothing."

She smiled and gave him a light kiss.

He responded, this being one of his favorite parts of their dates.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He roughly closed his locker as he walked towards the cafeteria. 'Dammit! Why the hell isn't she here today! First I don't see her last night, now she's absent! Does God not want me to talk to her or something?' He stomped down the hallway. The other students parted to get out of his way, just as the sea parted for Abraham. "No one better get in my way! I'm having a bad day, and I won't hesitate to hurt anyone, even a girl!" He yelled.

He recieved worried glances, but no one dared to challenge him. It seemed like his reputation proceeded him. ...Well he HAD been arrested, and he was a suspect for murder. This was a pretty small town, so by now everyone knew his situation.

He was in the gloomy cafeteria now. The walls were filthy after experienceing so many food fights. All the tables were empty, everyone ate outside these days. The wretched cafeteria food wasn't being served, no one was THAT hungry. He walked towards the vending machines. The lines were incredibly long. He was incredibly impatient. He stood at the end of the line silently. The other students were happily chatting with eachother. Smiled covered the innocent, happy faces.

A happy couple was embracing in the corner. 'It must be nice to have someone like that. Someone to hold in your arms. Someone to want you with all their heart.'

He switched his gaze. He noticed two girls standing in front of him. They were whispering secrets in each others ears. They were giggling at some recent gossip. 'Aren't those Kagome's friends?' He asked himself. He looked at the vending machines. The lines had barely moved forward. 'Damn!' He felt himself shaking. He wasn't hungry, he was anxious. He wanted to get out of the cafeteria as soon as possible, to get away from all the people around him. He felt so alone even though he was surrounded by so many people.

'All of my life I felt alone. I'm a hanyou; I'm different from everyone else. No one has ever accepted me, no one ever cared. And then there was Kagome... SHe was the nicest person I had ever met. She didn't seem to care that I was different, and that I had a bad reputation, she accepted me for who I was and befriended me. And then I had to blow it. She cared more for me than my own family! ...And I had to chase her away!' He mentally slapped himself.

A single strand of hair fell across his face. He blew it. The hair slowly flew up in the air. Then it fell to his face again. 'You will d-' His conversation with himself was interuppted.

"Inuyasha?" A girl's voice came from the side of him.

"What?" He asked snappily.

"Chill out! It's not my fault you're mad!" He turned to the voice. It was one of Kagome's friends. Yuri? The was about the same height as Kagome, five foot two. Short, or at least compared to Inuyasha's six feet and four inches. She was being awfully daring towards him, so he decided to listen.

"Well...what do you want?"

She brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I called Kagome last night." His ears perked up.

"And..?" He urged her on with his hand.

"She wasn't home."

'Well, she must have called before I got there or something.' He staid silent.

"Her mom said you came to visit."

He looked down at the ground. Avoiding the girl's gaze. 'So...when did she call? I was there pretty late, when's Kagome's curfew anyway?'

"Inuyasha." The girl liftede Inuyasha's face with her hand. "It's obvious you like Kagome, it's always been." The girl blinked her long lashes.

"But you see, the thing is w-"

"We've been very worried about her!" The other friend broke in.

"Yea! Kagome's been wound up in your life for a while now! She was depressed the whole time you were gone! That was fine until..."

"Until you came back! She was happy when you were about to get out. She even went to visit you during school hours! You know she hates missing school, ruining her perfect record!"

"Yea, and when you finally came back to school she was depressed again."

"Yea!"

"But the second time it was different."

"Totally different!"

"What did you do to her Inuyasha? What did you say? She's worse than she was before! And now she's gone!"

Inuyasha had been silently interpretting all the new information until he heard the word 'gone'. "GONE?!?!?! What are you talking about? Her mom said she was just out and it wasn't her curfew yet!" He yelled. Everyone in the lines stared at him. He sent them a fierce glance, they all turned away.

"Maybe not when you visited, but I called her around twelve! Inuyasha! Kagome isn't the kind of girl who'd be late for curfew! You know that! You had to have said something!"

"Me? I didn't do anything!" He motioned with his arms. He was worried now. If Kagome hadn't come home last night...where could she be? "She might just be sick!" He offered an ulternate explanation.

"I called her this morning!" The girl shreaked.

He covered his ears and looked down. 'She can't be serious! Where could Kagome be?'

"Look!" Inuyasha turned to face the girl. "We know you like her and all, but me and Eri think it would be best if you would stay away from Kagome. It's obvious you did something to upset her."

"Yea! So stay away." The two girls walked off.

'I upset her? Could it be?' He felt something by his pocket. "Huh?" he reached into his side pocket. "What's this?" He unfolded the paper he had found.

'Inuyasha...you cause a little girl like Kagome too much pain. How about giving me a try? I like my relationships rough ---Yumi ; )'

He crumpled the paper up. 'Slut.' He balled his fists and pushed throught the long lines. "I don't have the time to wait for this kind of bullshit." He hit the machine and a can of soda fell. He grabbed it roughly and headed towards the door. 'If that slut really is Kagome have run away because of something I said? Could she really be that hurt ? I guess I wasn't exactly nice- but was it enough for her to run away?'

He shook his head and walked through then door frame. "Oh Inuyasha." Came a man's voice in falsetto.

He squinted his eyes and turned around. "Kouga? What do you want?" He asked the bruised demon.

Kouga held up a piece- strands-of hair? "Don't tell me," Inuyasha felt his blood boiling. "That better not be Kagome's!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well...it could've been worse.... Please review. Especially if you weren't bribed into reading this : )

Oh...and if you're really bored and like Inu/Kag could you read my other story, 'Dogman'? It's not the best, but hey, neither am I.


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Six:

Later that day…

"Cheer up girly, no need to pout like that!" The rather large waitress  
patted her on the back. "We all get stood up at one point or another." The  
woman's cheery face caused Sango to smile.

"Well actually I'm not being st-"

"Come now! Don't go into denial. It's all right. It happens to the best of  
us. Just come to the bar and have a piece of cake. A nice slice of red  
velvet'll make it better, it always does." The woman grabbed Sango's arm and  
dragged her to the bar. 'It looks like someone's been following their own  
advice a little too much,' Sango commented to herself. The woman appeared to  
have eaten quite a few slices of cake during her dating experiences.

She sat down on one of the high stools. An iron pole held it up, the white  
paint was peeling off. She twisted the seat around so that she was facing  
the bar. She was in a small café waiting for Inuyasha. 'Sometimes I don't  
think he realizes the importance of these meetings. We do this so he knows  
what to say in court, and since I don't have an office I thought he'd like  
to come here so he could eat or something while we talked.' She sighed. This  
was a tough enough job already, but putting Inuyasha in the mix almost  
pushed her off the edge.

She rested her head in the palm of her head as she stared at the menu. The  
white letters were on a green backdrop. 'It reminds me of the shirt Kohaku  
was wearing when he-'

"Here you go, doll!" The cheery waitress pushed a small plate in front of  
Sango. She was thankful her thoughts had been cut off.

"Thank you." Sango picked up her fork and slowly broke a piece off of the  
slice. She smiled at the waitress, who was staring at her, before taking a  
bite. She slowly chewed on the sweet morsel, surprised by the delectable  
taste. "Mmm…" she mumbled as she dug the fork in for more.

"You sure like it, don't you?" the waitress asked happily. Sango nodded as she took another bite.

By the time she was finished it was close to dinnertime. The sun had gone  
further down in the sky, and she needed a solid meal, even if she was only  
hungry enough for a small one. 'I hope I don't gain any wait because of  
this.' She stepped down and walked to one of the tables. 'I don't want her  
talking to me…or staring at me the whole time.' The waitress had had an odd look  
in her eyes as she stood looking at Sango earlier.

She opened the menu that had been lying on the table. It wasn't very large-  
it was only a café. She hummed lightly as she searched the contents of the  
menu. 'The grilled salmon sounds nice,' She looked back at the bar; the  
waitress was still staring at her. 'But I think I'll order something that  
can be cooked faster…' She decided on a grilled chicken salad.

As she waited to be served, she made a quick call to Inuyasha's house. She  
heard the phone being picked up from her cell.

"Hello?" came a husky voice from the other side.

"Sesshoumaru?" she asked lightly.

"Yea. Is this Sango?" He quickly recognized her voice. "Is Inuyasha being  
stubborn or something?"

"Well…not exactly, he isn't here."

"Dammit." She heard the man curse on the opposite end of the phone line.

"It's okay," she assured. "I just wanted him to tell me the story again,  
make sure he didn't leave anything out."

"Okay? This is not okay! His life depends on this trial!"

"S-sorry, sir," she stuttered.

"No, I'm sorry, I over reacted."

"No, you didn't. I'm going to be paid a lot of money for this; I have to keep  
my act together," she announced.

"That's not it, Sango. I should have watched Inuyasha more closely. He tends  
to get caught up in other things."

"Other things?" Now she was curious.

"You know, his classmates. Inuyasha has a very hot temper."

"Oh. I see. Even though I haven't known him for long, I can only imagine."  
She stressed the last few words, trying desperately to lighten the mood by a  
joke. She only received silence. "Sesshoumaru, sir?"

"What?"

"Oh, I thought you had gone or something for a minute." She felt a little  
nervous whenever she talked to him; he always seemed so stern and stressed.  
And she felt nervous like that right now. But she supposed she would be like  
that too if her brother was in Inuyasha's situation.

"No, I'm just thinking."

"About?" she inquired.

"Where Inuyasha could be. He hated the juvenile hall. I can't imagine what  
he could possibly thinking that he'd miss a meeting with you. If he doesn't  
get the death penalty, he could be stuck in jail for the rest of his life…"  
He trailed off.

"That won't happen," she assured.

"Well, that's what I'm hoping."

"Well, that's what I'm guaranteeing. I'm not going to let anything happen to  
Inuyasha. I promise."

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but it doesn't look too hopeful for my  
brother. I appreciate that a lawyer with credentials such as yours would  
take on a case with that numbskull."

She sighed. "It's nothing... Besides, it's not like there's a line of people  
waiting to be represented by me." She paused for a moment. "Sesshoumaru, you  
must really love your brother."

"Wha?" He seemed to be caught off guard.

"I know you wouldn't want to admit, you're just as stubborn as Inuyasha"

"Hey!"

"But," she continued, "the two of you really stick up for each other."

"Well…"

"It's all right, you don't have to admit anything to me, I'm just a lawyer."  
She smiled. "Good night, I'll call back tomorrow.

"Okay, bye."

She clicked her phone off. "They're so cute!" She smiled to herself. The  
brothers really were close…in their own special way. 'Now…when is that  
dinner of mine getting here?'

It was just a salad, and she could have sworn she'd been waiting for well  
over ten minutes. 'After waiting this long it better be garden fresh! And by  
that I mean the lettuce better be getting cut out of the patch right this  
instant!' She tapped her heal against the wooden floor. She wasn't the most  
patient person, and she was going to leave when someone plopped himself on  
the chair across form her.

"Oh Inuyasha! You're he- Who are you?" She had been excited, that is until  
she saw an unfamiliar face across the table from her. She felt a frown form  
across her face.

"It's me... Shippo."

"Huh?" She gave the man a quizzical look, and leaned towards him to whisper.  
"Shippo, what are you doing here? And why are you dressed like that?"

He smiled. 'Yea, that's him.' She recognized the young man's toothy grin.

"I'm on the job, of course."

"Then why are you talking to me? I could blow your cover."

"Yea, but right now it looks like I've got a reason to be here," he said, as  
he glanced across the room, not that he needed to. He was a demon, he could  
probably tell everything going on in the room through his sense of smell and  
his acute hearing.

"Then what type of person are you looking for?" she asked casually.

"Well actually, she'll be walking down the street in about two minutes."

"Oh really?" She raised an eyebrow. "What did she do?"

"Oh nothing!" he sang. "She's just been…how can I say this? …A bad girl." He  
smiled devilishly.

She laughed. "Damn Shippo, you sound so professional. It's quite  
reassuring."

He cracked a smile. "Scary thing is... I'm the best in the business." He held  
the menu just below his eyes and darted them from one side of the room to  
another. He then jerked the menu up to cover his eyes again.

She laughed. He was pretty funny, at least as far as she was concerned.

A bell rang as the door of the café opened. It signaled that someone had  
entered. Sango didn't bother to turn; Shippo was amusing her.

She heard a woman's laughter and a man's voice...but why did they both sound  
so familiar? She didn't know any couples. When she turned around to see them  
her eyes widened. 'They can't be…!'

-

* * *

She shivered as she brought the sheets over her knees. The house was cold,  
and the crazy man was gone. She was alone now. 'This is horrible! He's  
gone… This would be the perfect time for me to escape, but he's locked the  
doors and covered the windows with plywood!' She was shivering at a faster  
pace. It wasn't because of the cold anymore. She was scared.

She was in a stranger's home, alone, and there was no way to get out. She  
wished she could have been a more clever person right about then. A smarter  
Kagome would have found an easy way to escape by now. 'If only I could pull  
out the nails from the plywood, or I could throw something through the  
door…but what if he sues me for property damages or something like that!'  
(So Kagome isn't the brightest…)

She had the courage to step off of the mattress and explore the room. The  
floor creaked with each step she took. 'This room, it's like a shrine… to me.  
And I guess I'm the main attraction… The real live thing. But it isn't for  
me. That person in all those pictures is someone else, a different person  
entirely. So… why am I here?' She jerked back as she saw a flicker of light.

As she nervously turned, she felt a breeze brush behind her. 'Someone's  
behind me!' She almost shrieked as she spastically turned around. She was in  
a defense position of some unknown martial arts style.

"Huh?" There was no one there. "Then what did I feel just then? What was  
that?" She began to panic. 'Oh no! There must be someone else in this house!  
I'm going to get killed!' (…And she's panicking just now?) She slowly  
tiptoed to the door, as if that could possibly save her.

She warily stuck her head out of the doorframe. Nothing, it was clean. She  
took a reluctant step out of the room. She quickly searched the hallway for  
any motion. Once again, nothing was there. 'Then what was that breeze?' She  
looked back in the room. 'Oh, now I feel stupid!' She mentally slapped  
herself. Part of the bedroom window was not boarded up completely. The air  
had escaped threw the hole.

Then… she heard the door rattle.

-

* * *

He knocked the youkai in the jaw for a fifth time, watching the blood slowly  
trickle down his chin. "I-It was just a joke…" the beat up guy whispered.  
The blood bubbled at his lips as he spoke. "You weren't supposed t- AH!" He  
let out a weak cry of pain. He scrunched his eyes.

"Come on! I didn't even do anything to you this time!" he yelled hotly at  
his victim.

"Dude! Give Koga, like, a break! He probably has a concussion after you hit  
him so hard! Inuyasha, let go!" The young Ginta tried to pull the hanyou away  
from his leader.

"Fuck off!" the hanyou roared as he threw the young youkai across the empty  
street. "This is none of your business!" He sent the young one a piercing  
glare as he continued to hold Koga by his collar. "It's his own damn fault  
this is happening to him! He caused this!" He saw red flash before his eyes.  
At that point, even the angry hanyou realized he was going overboard. He  
dropped his enemy on the ground roughly.

"You weren't supposed to-"

"Oh, not that again! What? Was I not supposed to beat the crap out of you?  
If you made me believe you hurt a very close friend of mine? What did you  
expect?"

He was answered by silence.

"Whatever! I'm leaving; I've got better things to do then wait for you to  
mumble things.

"You fucking broke his jaw!" Ginta insisted on getting involved again.

Inuyasha jumped over to the young youkai and knocked him unconscious. He  
cracked his knuckles. "Well, there's enough of that noisy brat."

-

* * *

It rattled still, louder and louder. Shuttering occasionally. And then came  
a metallic tapping. 'What the?' The door seemed to come closer and closer  
to her, like she was in 'The Shinning'. She took slow steps back, and she  
was careful to not run into something. 'I…I don't know what to do!  
Something's on the other side of that door, or should I say…someone?' She  
ran to the further end of the hallway. She found herself in a kitchen.

'What now?' She was panicking again. Sweat was rolling down her forehead.  
She scrambled around the kitchen, digging through the drawers and cabinets.  
'There has to be something in here! If only I knew what kind of thing I was  
looking for…'

-

* * *

And yet… there they were, on a date. Sango's archenemy, the District Attorney  
Koharu, and Miroku were on a date together. She was laughing daintily as he  
whispered sweet nothings in her ear.

Her heart seemed to shatter into millions of pieces right there. There she  
was, Koharu, Sango's enemy in court. That woman was trying to get Inuyasha  
killed. 'But… if Miroku's dating her… why did he try to help me with my case?'  
She flashed back to the first day she had met him. He had openly explained  
his theories on the case, and explained how Inuyasha could be innocent. 'Is  
he some kind of spy? My God! This is worse than what he did to me last  
time!' She gripped the napkin that was resting on her lap.

She bit her lip as her salad was finally placed before her. "So… you got the  
chicken salad? Excellent choice," came Shippo's voice. She jumped in  
surprise, with all those overwhelming emotions in her thoughts, she had  
completely forgotten that he was there. "Sango, is something the matter? You look a little pale all of the sudden."

She jerked her head up so that their eyes met. "N-no! Nothing's wrong!" she  
stuttered as she looked down at her salad and began stabbing the lettuce  
with her fork. She looked up at Shippo, and she could see Miroku's face and  
the back of Koharu's head. They sat right at the next table. She began to  
wonder if Miroku had noticed her. She saw his eyes look towards her  
direction. She tried to crack a smile, but then she realized he was looking  
at Koharu, his date, not her.

She felt tears begin to form in her eyes. 'Oh no… I'm crying, aren't I? Why am  
I getting so wound up anyways? It's not like he means anything to me! I hate  
him!' She began to dig at her salad again.

"Sango, are you… crying?" Shippo asked. She could hear the worry in his  
voice. He was a good friend, but he didn't understand what was going on with  
her and she wasn't about to unload all her problems on him. She held her  
fork still as it pierced a cherry tomato.

"Yea… I'm a little teary eyed right now, it must be the onions in the salad."  
She sent him a reassuring smile and ate the tomato. This was killing her,  
but worse… she didn't know why she was getting so upset. 'I knew he had a  
girlfriend… but HER? Why HER? Of all the women in the world…'

…And then she cracked. As she looked at Shippo she could see the happy  
couple behind him kissing passionately. 'No!' she screamed in her mind.  
She quickly stood up from the table. "I'm sorry Shippo, but I have to leave  
right now." She charged out of the café.

"What the?" asked a befuddled youkai. He then looked up, a rather large (and  
not so cheery anymore) waitress stood in front of him.

"So, you're the man that made that precious child angry?"

-

* * *

The door finally busted open. She felt her heart stop. 'It's here.' She  
looked up from the cupboard, and there he was- Onigumo.

She dropped the spoon and twisted her arms behind her back. She smiled  
innocently at the older man.

His thin lips curled. "I couldn't open the door, the key didn't fit right. I  
had to fight it a little," he explained. "What were you doing, girl?" he  
asked suspiciously.

"Well, I didn't know what it was… or who you were and I was scared so I-"

"You were planning to attack a stranger… with a spoon?" He raised an eyebrow.  
"Such a silly person." He walked towards her and cupped her chin in his bony  
hand. "Don't worry, you won't be silly once you leave this house." 'You'll  
be dead…'

He smirked as he threw his keys on the counter. "You should get some sleep,  
the bags under you eyes are huge! You do want to look lovely, don't you?" He  
wound his way through the hallway and closed himself in one of the  
mysterious rooms.

"Uh…" She ran into 'her' room as quickly as she could. He smiled as he heard  
her lock click. 'Like that will save you, you silly, silly girl.' He  
snickered.

-

* * *

He found himself knocking on her front door again. 'Why am I doing this? Her  
mom's going to think I'm so weird for coming here two days in a row. Wait! I  
bet she thinks I'm trying to take advantage of Kagome or something! I bet  
she thinks I'm a stalker! Maybe I should go back! But wait, if I leave  
they'll get scared that someone knocked on their door at night and no one  
was the-' His confused thoughts were cut off.

"Oh… Inuyasha? How nice to see you again! Would you like to come in?" Miss  
Higurashi smiled as she opened the door further.

He smiled as he walked in to the familiar living room. "Umm… " He began as he  
walked towards the sofa. "Can I speak with Kagome?"

He noticed Miss Higurashi's unusual silence and turned around.

"Miss Higurashi?"

"Uh? Oh!" she looked up at him. "I'm sorry, I zoned out for a bit." She sat  
on the chair across from him. "You see, the things is… Kagome didn't come  
home last night." She paused. "She did get mad at me a few nights ago… it's  
probably my fault..." She trailed off, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"WHAT?"

-

* * *

She had finally stopped running and found herself on a park swing. 'I can't  
believe I just ran away like that…' It was strange because Sango was  
normally so strong. 'Why did I get so upset? Was it because Miroku is going  
out with Koharu? Could that have really made me so upset? Why would that  
hurt so much anyway? I'm already going out with someone anyway. Why do I  
care what other people do?' She looked down at the ground. It was sand. She  
grabbed a nearby twig and began to draw. 'Why did I run away when they… when  
they kiss!'

She stiffened as she heard a sound come from the bushes. "Sango?" A familiar  
voice called to her. 'Who, who is that?' She looked up at the voice.

"M-Miroku! W-what are you doing here?" She was startled by his appearance.

"What am I doing here?" he repeated her as sat down on the swing beside her.  
He was panting- as if he had… run after her, maybe? "I was worried about you.  
I mean, you just ran out of the café and you looked really upset," he  
explained.

'He was worried about me? Why?'

"Tell me," he began with a slightly… protective… tone. "Did that guy you were  
eating with say something to offend you?"

'Huh? Why would he say that? Oh!' "Him? No! That was Shippo, he was on a  
job!" She laughed.

"Shippo?" Miroku put his fist to his chin. "Wow… I didn't even recognize him,  
I thought he was that boyfriend of yours or something."

"Him? Nah, I just called him a few days ago. He was stuck in Maine. His  
flight was cancelled because of the weather."

"Maine? He travels for a living?"

"Well… he's an actor actually." She blushed at the thought of her man. A  
light breeze flowed through her hair.

"Actor? Well, that's an interesting job. I've alw-."

"Tell me something?" she interrupted him. "Why is it that you helped me on  
my case when your girlfriend is on the other side of the it, against me?"  
She turned to him. Her face was placid. It kind of worried him.

"Me? Well… it was the truth," he answered simply.

"But that goes against your girlfriend, this'll only make her job harder for  
her," she challenged him.

"Well," he began, "sometimes old friends are more important to me then my  
girlfriend." He stared back into her eyes.

-

* * *

"She hasn't been home? Oh my God, this is all my fault!" He panicked. He  
grabbed his head and began to mumble. "She's probably gone suicidal because  
of the things I've said to her! She'll never forgive me!" he whimpered to  
himself.

Miss Higurashi laughed. "Inuyasha, don't worry. You've never made my  
daughter unhappy. In fact, she turns into a ball of sunshine whenever you  
are mentioned."

"Really?" He stopped worrying for a moment. Miss Higurashi nodded. 'She gets  
happy because of me?'

"I'm not sure what you said to her, but I'm sure she'll be all right. It's not  
like her to not come home, but this is probably just some spell of  
rebellion. I've read in magazines that the most obedient children break the  
rules at least once in their lives." She stood up and walked towards the  
window. "I'm not worried about her, she'll be fine." She traced something on  
the window and turned to Inuyasha. "All you need to do is go home and get  
some sleep. Stop worrying about my goofy daughter and get some rest. You  
look just awful with those bags under your eyes. I bet you've suffered more  
over the things you've told her than she has." She giggled. "Young love,  
it's so adorable."

He blushed deeply.

"Oh! I said that out loud, didn't I?" She giggled some more. " I'm sorry  
sweetie, it slipped. Now," she motioned for the door, "you better get home.  
That brother of yours is probably worried sick by now. He already called  
over here earlier this evening!" She kindly ushered him out of her home and  
closed the door behind him.

'She seemed… odd today,' he thought to himself as he began his walk home.

She leaned against the door after she closed it. 'I told him not to worry  
about a thing… but both Kagome and Souta are missing tonight! I just don't  
know what I'll do if either of them is actually in trouble!' Tears began to  
poor from her eyes.  
-

* * *

He obviously didn't know what those words of his did to her. 'Sometimes old  
friends are more important to me then my girlfriend… What's that supposed to  
mean? And why am I blushing like this!' She was glad that it was dark and he  
couldn't see the color of her face.

"Is something wrong?"

"Hmm?" She looked up at him.

"Well, you just seemed really quiet all of the sudden."

"Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking."

"Of what?"

"Stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" he asked.

"Well," she thought about her upcoming words, "I was thinking about us,  
actually."

"Us?" He was a little surprised. 'So… I'm not the only one who's been  
thinking of that lately.'

"You know, how we used to be." She sighed. "It's just so strange… ever since  
I saw you again… a few days ago, I can't stop thinking about high school."

"Me either." He looked down.

"And I keep thinking of prom- about what you did."

'That's it, now I'm going to get it." He grinded his teeth.

"No matter how many times I think about what you had done, I can't get mad  
at you."

"Huh?"

"Well, if you hadn't done that, I might not be like I am now. I could be  
married to you-know-who, and I might not have gone to college, and I might  
never have done a lot of things of done over the past years." She looked up  
at the sky.

"Yea, about that, about what I did… I am sorry Sango, I really am."

"Oh, I know that." She sent a smile his way. "I knew that."

"'Knew'? What do you mean?"

"Well, I knew that you used to have a little crush on me- I just wasn't  
interested. I knew you were just trying to impress me, but I thought HE was  
more important at that time. I got carried away. I was kind of in denial  
too."

"Denial? Why?"

"Because I liked you. Well, more than 'liked'. It was more like obsessed  
with." She blushed.

"R-Really?" He couldn't believe it.

"Yea. I was just afraid that it might ruin our friendship or something."

"Oh, that explains it, I guess."

"If I hadn't been in denial… I might have actually been flattered. You had  
gone through an awful lot of trouble to do that…"

"It was nothing… for the one I love."

"Yea," She giggled. "We could have been married or something!"

She was joking, but his laughs had been forced at that one. 'Yea… we probably  
would have too…'

"This is nice."

"What is?"

"Talking like this. It kind of reminds me of back then. I almost miss that,  
having so many good friends."

"Yea, but we all moved on and became so different."

"Yea…"

"Well," Miroku stretched as he stood up, "I really ought to get going. Now  
that I know you're okay I should probably go back to Koharu."

She nodded as he walked off.

'She laughed about it… but we could have really been something…'

'Did he say, the one I love? Love, not lovED, but loves? As in, still do…?'

They were both horribly confused…

-

* * *

End of chapter six, jeez, this was a pretty long chapter! How'd you like it?  
There should be a few less mistakes here…hopefully. Please review! Is it  
still confusing? I'd hate for you all to still be confused…

Oh yea, sorry I took so long to update. Due to a few different reasons my writing was delayed, (Not that I normally update much faster or anything) But I had the whole week off (Mardi Gras Holidays…but I guess only us people from Louisiana get off for that huh?) So I decided to try and write something. So here's a chapter and I updated Dogman too (Not that anyone from here actually reads that one, I'm kinda disappointed, it's doing well on animespiral) well anyways, please review. Ask me anything you would like answered (about the story of course) and have a good day, and review dammit!


	7. Chapter Six

Thanks to the Reviewers to Chapter Four:

**luvinukagome-** Well, that was kinda the effect I was going for...thanks for the review

**Fluffy'sbabe- **Yes they are, and thanks for the review

**The Evil Liar**- I'm going to try and do that...soon ;;

**Rosey Posey**- Really? I always try for originality! Glad you liked it!

**animeobssessed3191**- Glad you liked it, yeah, I know it's messed up...but Black Phoenix has been a little busy. Would you like to help beta? If you want, you can do spelling and grammar check, just E-mail me! Oh, and when will you update your story? I've been waiting!

**Suaru**- hey look! I didn't forget about this one! Funny actually, when you reviewed for Dogman I was writing this chapter...lol

And for Chapter Five (Yeah, changed the chapter numbers!):

**BlackKatKate**- Glad your interested in the story! ...and maybe, you never know what evil twists could happen!

**animeobssessed3191**- uhh...I really hate that format too...but I think it might get stuck that way ;;; sorry

**Randomnessgurl** - I did! Thanks for the review! And I tried to E-mail you, but it didn't work...heehee, well, I tried...

**luvinukagome**- Glad you liked it...here it is!

**Black** **Phoenyx**- I'm glad you actually review...hope the corrections show up this time!

**Suaru**- hear it is, I updated, enjoy!

Sorry if I misspelled anything!

Chapter Six:

The next morning

He jerked back as the alcohol contacted his fresh scratch. "Dammit!" He let out a low growl as he continued dabbing his wound.

"Honestly Kouga, I don't get why you bother with that shit, a cut's a cut. It'll heal without that," the younger youkai said as he watched his leader flinch. "I mean, you are a demon. The wound will heal quickly."

"Yes, but there's no guarantee that it won't become infected," he said between his grinding fangs. "Inuyasha will be pissed for the rest of the week for sure. I'm not sure if I can take him on when he's that angry."

"Wha! You mean, you're actually worried? That mutt isn't even full bred. What could he possibly do to you?"

"A lot," Kouga answered simply.

"I never thought you'd say that about anyone, sir," Ginta replied silently. Could a hanyou actually be stronger than Kouga? That can't be!

"Well," Kouga said, slightly frustrated, "we are pretty evenly matched." He threw the cotton ball on the floor, right beside the trash bin. "It's not that simple though." He stood up and brushed his jeans off. "That bastard has a bad temper. He won't give me a break if he stays angry. I have to be ready tomorrow; otherwise he'll beat me into the ground and jump on me. He likes overkill!" he announced as he covered his left knee with a fresh bandage. He sighed and shook his head.

"What's wrong now?" Ginta asked worriedly. He hadn't seen Kouga express so many emotions until Inuyasha had gotten out of juvie. "Are you worried about the fight or something?"

Kouga balled his fists. "I've been asked to speak at the trial," he muttered loudly enough for the young wolf youkai to hear him.

"What's wrong with that? You are the one who framed him and all," Ginta was quick to reply.

"Yea, but if I show my face in that court…Kagome will hate me." Kouga looked down. His deep blue eyes now focused on the carpet. "I don't know if I can face her after speaking against Inuyasha."

"SO?" the innocent youkai asked. "The slut can go to hell; who cares?"

Kouga's eyes filled with rage. "I do!" He leapt at Ginta's young, thin neck. The young one coughed in surprise. "I love that 'slut'! I'm not sure why-but there's just something about Kagome." He realized what he was doing and slowly released his grip on Ginta. "I-I love her! And I'm a little worried that she loves him." He kicked the wall, causing a hole.

Ginta was slowly calming his rushed breaths. "Don't worry then. As soon as his ass is in jail for good, she'll turn to you," he tried to comfort the older wolf.

"But," Kouga weakly began. "I don't want her to fall for me. I want her to already be madly in love with ME, not that faggot HALF BREED!" He swung at the wall with his hand, forming a second hole; he was trying to hide the tears of anguish with his acts of anger. 'It wasn't supposed to happen this way! She wasn't supposed to like him! He wasn't supposed to be nice to her!' He slammed the wall causing it to shake. A picture frame from above, fell off of the nail it had been resting on and fell on the top of his head. It bounced, fell to the ground, and shattered.

He looked down angrily as he rubbed his head. It was a picture of Kagome and him. Is this what would become of their relationship now that Inuyasha was back? He felt fury rush through his veins and was pressured to throw his  
fist through the shining paper of the photo, and then he stopped. 'But I can't-I can't let this happen!' He fell to the ground.

"Kouga?" Ginta asked shakily. He had watched the whole scene in fear.

"Get out," The enflamed youkai said, staring at the young wolf with unfocused eyes.

"But Kouga," He protested. "I didn't do an-!"

"GET OUT NOW! I need some time without your whiney ass around!" He threw a lamp toward the young one, purposefully missing.

"Fine!" the young one pouted as he stubbornly walked out of the apartment.

Kouga angrily pounded the floor as he sobbed angrily. "This isn't fair!"

Her eyes slowly opened as she stared at the door. She could hear him moving in the house- probably planning to rape her she assumed. 'I'm going to die in this blasted house, aren't I?' she thought miserably to herself as she pulled the sheets closer to her shivering frame. 'But…if he does it soon-kills me- maybe it won't be so bad.' She cried nervously, waiting for her death wasn't really her favorite pastime.

She heard a light knock on the door, and she froze still. 'Why is he knocking?' She confusedly answered the knock. "Yes?"

"Turn on the TV," he instructed her through the door.

"Huh?" She looked around, and for the first time, she noticed that there was a small television set in the room. "Why?" she inquired as she stood up and looked for the power button. She wasn't about to ignore his directions.

"There's something on the news you might want to see," he replied coldly. She could hear him walk down the hallway afterwards. Obviously it wasn't that important to him.

"How would he know what would interest me?" she asked herself as she pressed the red button on the base on the set.

And then she knew…

He drank from the steaming cup. If the caffeine didn't wake him up, he figured the heat of the drink would. He hummed lightly as he looked around the café. Yes, for the umpteenth time that week he was in that small café. (I didn't think umpteenth was an actual word...stupid me)

If he was sitting in this seat last night he would have been sitting opposite of Sango. He was beginning to wonder if he maybe would have enjoyed that better. He poured the contents of a sugar packet into the cup and took another sip.

He loved Koharu, he really did. He would do anything he could for her. But there was one slight problem. He loved Sango too. He hadn't realized this for sure until last night. Koharu had looked at him suspiciously and said that he had been smiling his head off. He hadn't noticed this fact, and so now he assumed he had been smiling because he had spoken to Sango.

But how could that have made him happy? She practically laughed about them having a relationship. If she knew he liked her, didn't she realize how hard he tried to get her to feel the same way towards him? Was it just a joke to her?

But it wasn't a joke. Never could she have treated HIM of all people that cruelly. She would never toy with his emotions like that. He just didn't understand her at all...

He took a quick gulp of the remaining coffee before he threw it into the bin and shuffled outside. 'Maybe I should stop dwelling on this. I'm involved with Koharu now. She loves me and I...I like her. I can't just leave her in favor of a high school fantasy.' He rubbed his hands together for warmth and began walking back to work. Fun, fun.

"But officer, I don't understand." Mrs. Higurashi looked up hopefully at the young policeman. "They're only children, they could be in danger!" She wiped away a newly fallen tear. "My Kagome has been gone since two nights ago-  
last night and the night before- and Souta, Souta never came home from school yesterday! What if they're hurt? What if- what if they're dead!" She dug her nails into thighs as she grabbed her jeans tightly. She didn't want to overreact and touch the officer, that wouldn't help her at all.

"Ma'am, it's common that children Kagome's age run away from home. It just sounds more appealing to them then homework and chores. She should be back soon," he said dryly as he ushered her out of his office. It was his lunch break and he was dying for a doughnut. (Reminds me of the policeman from the Simpsons.)

"And what about Souta?" she questioned frantically. "He's much younger than she is! Are you going to tell me he just went to stay at a friends house?" This man didn't care about her children; she could see it in his eyes. She knew the drill, she did HAVE two children. Kagome had once stayed at a friend's house over the weekend without telling her. But Souta was a lot more responsible than her daughter. That kind of behavior was unusual indeed for him. And Kagome. That girl would never run away. She's the kind of person that got homesick when they left for the beach over a weekend. She couldn't do that; she simply wasn't capable of such a thing.

He grimaced at her. "Look ma'am, your children aren't the only people missing. It happens all the time. And since they are both gone- they probably are going to go do something together. Get over it. If they aren't home in the morning, then you give us a call." He gave her a blank stare and turned to the paper work on the desk behind him.

Get over it? Had he been joking to her? Or was he really some kind of sadistic fool? She most certainly would not get over the fact that both of her fairly trustworthy kids were missing. Both of them! That was just absurd! This moron was going to be reported as soon as her kids were found...

He kicked the crumpled can that stood in his way. With every five or six steps it was before him again, and he kicked it…again. The cool air brushed through his long hair that was probably tangled and matted- he didn't really care. He had planned on going to school, but since he didn't see Kouga or Kagome there again he didn't see a reason in staying. School just wasn't any fun if you couldn't kick any ass or beg for forgiveness.

And "amazingly" enough he felt like a rather large piece of crap right about then. First, Kagome was off somewhere and it was probably his fault. It usually was, so he assumed that it was the same this time. What really surprised him, though, wasn't about Kagome…more like Kouga. He had beaten the pride out of the wolf youkai in front of all his young companions. 'I bet those little shit-heads really think that bastard is all-that.' He scoffed as he kicked the beaten up can again.

'I might have been pretty mean to him earlier. He WAS playing a joke right? But that wasn't much of an excuse. The bastard made me believe he had had Kagome. Maybe I should have sniffed for the scent of the hair first, but that bastard shouldn't have done that.' He rounded the street corner and was now on a busier street. He left the can behind in favor of kicking a small dead kitten he found. (No just joking!) He left the cat behind in favor of looking interested in the shops.

But every time a girl passed him by, he couldn't help but think of Kagome. 'Where is she anyways? Could she have really run away? Would she really have left me like that? I want to say no, but something tells me that I'm wrong. She's probably really ticked off at me.'

He looked up at the dimming sky. 'Kagome, where are you?' He sighed; the sky wasn't about to answer his questions. He turned yet another street corner, this time running into someone.

"Inuyasha?"

"Souta...is dead?" she asked the television screen. Sure enough, he was. Or the evening news was playing a horribly sick joke on her. She grasped the strange sheets tightly with her thin fingers. "They...they have to be lying...they're lying!" she yelled at the blinking screen. How could she just believe that her little brother was dead? And if he really was...who could possibly kill an innocent child?

'What am I supposed to do now? For all I know I'll be killed in this strange house. That creep wouldn't even let me go to the funeral, that is, if Souta is really dead and this isn't some vile dream...' She shot a menacing glance at the hallway. 'What does he want with me anyways? He couldn't have possibly seen me more than once...could he? The only time I can remember seeing him is when I introduced myself to him and we went to the ice cream parlor. He couldn't be a stalker could he?' She involuntarily shivered.

For her whole life she had been pretty sheltered. She was just an innocent girl and she thought the best of everyone. So how was it that she got herself into such a mess? It all began with a simple act of kindness-she invited the new janitor for a snack- and now she would probably die before ever seeing her family again. ...She would never see her brother again.

But, after a few minutes of random news reports, it finally clicked. Souta was dead. Her poor, sweet, innocent little brother was dead. She would never see him again. That toothy grin would never appear on his fragile face again. The thick tufts of brown hair would never need combing again. And all his friends, so young, would have to experience a death so close to them. Their lives would be changed permanently.

She thought the past few days were going to be the worst days in her life...but now, without Souta...there wasn't really much to come home to now but sadness, right? And her mother!...No one suffering with her.

Kagome could feel the warm tears prickle the bottoms of her eyes, the shining droplets rolling down her cheeks. She gripped the sheets tightly and shook. The bed frame screeched as she beat on the mattress. She was sad,  
yes, but she was also angry. 'Someone harmed Souta, MY BABY BROTHER! The sweet child who had done nothing wrong in his entire life. How could anyone be so cruel?' And... she couldn't do anything about it, not unless she knew who the murderer was...

'Is there any way I can help Souta? I'm stuck in this confounded room...but, maybe this is just the right place...' She stared at the empty hallway.

'Maybe...' She thought intently as she slowly stepped off of the bed. She slowly made her way to the doorframe and looked down the hall. 'That's his bedroom. Maybe...'

'Who is this guy?' Inuyasha asked himself as he looked at the stranger in front of him. He was as tall as Inuyasha himself, but he appeared to be almost ten years older. He was still young though. His eyes were bright and lively even though they were such a dark shade. His short black hair was pulled into a rat's tail behind his head. 'He doesn't look familiar at all, but he knows my name?' Inuyasha raised his eyebrow at the stranger.

"Inuyasha? That is your name right?" the man asked again patiently.

"Who are you?" he asked rudely.

The stranger looked slightly taken aback by his rudeness, but recovered quickly. "I'm Miroku," he said happily.

"And you know me, how?" Inuyasha motioned with his hands to emphasize the question.

"Umm..." Miroku thought a moment. "Oh that's right, you've never met me!" He laughed dumbly. 'I've talked to Sango about him...but I never actually talked to him in person.'

Inuyasha gave him a bland look. "No, I'm afraid I haven't. Should I know you?" he asked. He wasn't very interested, but it's not like he had anything better to do then to question the complete stranger. And there was the fact that he wanted to know how this guy knew his name anyway.

Miroku scratched his head nervously. 'I bet I look like a weirdo now...' "Um, well, I guess there's no reason for you to know me." He quirked a brief smile. "I only know you because Sango speaks of you a lot," he began to  
explain.

"Sango talks about me?" Inuyasha asked softly. 'I didn't think she really cared...'

"Yea, all the time." Miroku answered quickly.

"So what are you, her boyfriend or something? She mentioned something about a fiancé or so before," Inuyasha asked with mild interest. He suddenly found more interest in his lawyer.

"Uh," He could feel his face heat up slightly. "Not really." He laughed lightly. 'Why am I blushing?'

"But you wanna be huh?" Inuyasha asked, snickering a little. 'This guy's so readable. He's got it bad.' (Too bad Inuyasha can't realize that about himself)

Miroku gave him an odd look. "Uh, well, the whole story's a little complicated..." He mumbled.

Inuyasha sighed. "Uh huh...well that's great." He began to walk away.

"Hey wait a minute." Miroku grabbed his arm. "I think we should talk." He motioned towards the cafe down the street.

"About what?" Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "I'm not helping you with your relationship problems." Inuyasha rolled his eyes. 'What on earth does this guy think I am? A matchmaker?'

"Not that!" Miroku said, a little agitated. "About your case! I think I could help you out a bit if you would just listen to me for about thirty minutes." He shot Inuyasha a stern look and released his arm. "Dinner's on me." He offered with a bright smile.

'What's with this guy?' "Uh...well if I don't have to pay for dinner...sure," Inuyasha shrugged.

"Hey boss, what are you doing?" Ginta asked, jumping. They had done nothing but hang around the apartment all day and the young freshmen couldn't wait until something interesting finally happened. He straightened his cotton T-shirt and looked expectantly at Kouga.

"Look Ginta, I want you to keep watch here, I have something to do," Kouga said curtly as he made his way to the door.

"But Kouga, what do I have to stay for?" he whined. "I've been cramped in here all day!" He sent an angry glace to the older youkai.

"Well, you'll have to be here a little longer. 'Cause there's something I have to do alone!" He slammed the door behind him and stomped down the street.

"What's biting him?" Ginta slumped on the couch and blew at a loose strand of hair. Kouga had been acting very peculiar lately. Was it possible that he really loved Kagome? Would she ever feel that devoted to him?

The dim lights of the cafe cast a morbid shadow across Inuyasha's face. The way he looked in the dark...that was the image Miroku had expected to see when he first met THE Inuyasha. Koharu had constantly described him as a  
menacing, trouble making hanyou. Miroku loved the girl, but he couldn't block her racism. She often reminded him of his ominous reputation around the high school. But sitting across from him, Miroku found all of it hard to believe.

He hadn't had much experience with demons in his life. He had only met with Sesshoumaru and Shippo. The two were just so different in personality that he didn't know what to expect from Inuyasha. But out of all the things he imagined...Inuyasha was nothing like. Sesshoumaru seemed so cold. He was mean, mysterious, and strong. Shippo was the exact opposite. The little squirt was open and honest, he was as nice as a little kid, and, well, Miroku could probably stand a chance against him if they every fought. They were both very much like humans...but so very different.

And Inuyasha, from what Miroku could tell, he was just a confused adolescent. It was funny though, Inuyasha was the one who looked most inhuman with his dog ears, but as far as personality goes...he was more human than Miroku. He was angry, he was sad, and he was in love.

From what Miroku understood, Inuyasha was in love with this girl Kagome. The youkai he claimed framed him, was in love with the girl as well. And from what Inuyasha could guess, Kouga was jealous and wanted to get Inuyasha  
killed through the death penalty.

Currently, Inuyasha was twiddling his thumbs and staring off into space. Miroku was thinking about what he had just heard.

"So you believe that Kouga guy was the one who killed the other guy what's-his-name-Houjo?" he asked, looking up from the table.

"No, I know that Kouga was the one who killed him." Inuyasha answered stubbornly.

"Do you have any proof?"

"Well, I didn't do it. But Kouga didn't exactly leave any clues," Inuyasha answered.

"Well, maybe you could get him to admit that he did it on a recorder or something," Miroku offered the idea.

"Wouldn't work."

"Why not?"

"He won't admit to it, he's not stupid."

"Yea, right, I forgot." Miroku nodded.

"I do too sometimes..." 'Kouga! How is it that the moron could frame me so perfectly! And where the hell is Kagome? He better not have anything to do with it...'

"Do you have a picture of him?" Miroku asked, an idea popping in his head.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, do you think I'd bother writing this?

A/N: So...well, my mood has changed a lot since I started writing this fic. I'm not as...negative I guess you'd call it...Do you guys mind? I know I've added a few of my cheesy comments in here, and I just wanted to know if that was ruining this story for you. Please tell me! Oh, and tell me if the quality of this story has changed. The chapters have been getting a little longer, but it seems like less is happening, please tell me if that's making a big impact!

Really guys, tell me if I should change anything, really! Oh, and don't forget to review! I live off of reviews...and I'm practically dead...

So review! Tell me the good, the bad and the ugly!


	8. Chapter Seven

Oh Lord, the page breaks aren't showing up again. I'll try to put them in this time, I hope they work. Sorry it took me so long. But now my beta isn't responding, so that means I had to edit it all by my lonesome. I hope it's okay.

Review Responses: Wow, I got three...

**Taylor**: Hee, never saw an episode of CSI or anything like that in my life, maybe a couple of episodes of law and order like eight years ago. I was like, what 7? Hee, but the reason I know any of this is either I asked my mom (she's and attorney) or made it up. I can't tell the real from the fictional in this story anymore. Heh...I'm so weird. But...you got to readthis chapter in advance, so for all I know you're not even reading this!

**Suaru**: A lot of stuff is happening? Guess so...here's the next chapter, and I'm working on Dogman. Hope you like this one!

**priestessmykala**: There are cliffhangers? Apparently I'm missing something, lol! I'm glad you're back htough, I thought you stopped reading this!

Chapter Seven:

_The cool summer's breeze drifted through the open window, causing her ebony locks to drift before her face. Through her obscured vision she could see the clay figure, the hundreds of pictures placed carefully along the walls. This was the fifth morning she had come to wake up in this room, and by now she had finally grasped that this room was indeed no dream._

_She took in a deep breath of the humid air and smiled. It was ironic, wasn't it? All her life she had tried to help people in desperate situations, and she had succeeded in every single one. But now, the one time in her life that she was possibly in grave danger...no one would be able to save her._

_She had only opened the tattered bedroom door once since she had woken up in this strange house. As soon as she saw that man- that strange, sinister looking man- she immediately ran back to the room. Even now, four days later, she could distinctly remember the sound of his laughing after she had fled to the desolate room._

_Who was he, anyway? She had never known anyone like him in all her life, ever. Was this some kind of joke? Her freinds back at the office did enjoy practical jokes, but this? She had often been the butt of their jokes, and the victim of their silly pranks, but...these were her friends! They might kidnap her, but they would never scare her into locking herself up and not eating for days, or at least she didn't think so._

_But if it wasn't her friends...who was it? Did someone really hate her so much that they'd do something like this to her?_

**Skratch**

_She started at the noise. What could it have been? Her eyes darted around the room._

_It was barely morning, soft sunlight was slowly seeping in through the open window, she couldn't make outmuchof the room around her._

**Shk**

_She nervously fiddled with her hands as she looked about theroom. What could that noise be? Surely if someone was in the room with her she would have heard them by now...wouldn't she?_

_She rubbed her eyes and looked around the small room again, as if to confirm that nothing was there, that she really was alone._

_To her comfort, no one was there. But then again, she couldn't help but feel threatened. Something menacing, something sinister was about to happen. She could sense it; it was unescapable._

Am I going to die? _She thought silently to herself_.

_She was silent for a moment, and then she began to laugh._ Die? _She asked herself_. Kaede, how could you ever allow yourself to think that? How pathetic are you? You can't register the house you're in, so you assume that you're going to die? _She mocked her own thoughts_.

What am I supposed to assume! It's never a good sign to be in a stranger's house! I mean, what if that guy out in the living room is some kind of murderer? _She felt the cold sweat pooling on her forehead. Her hands were shaking nervously as she sat on the worn-out matress._

Well, girl, if you're so worried, why don't you do something about it! If you just sit here...you very well may be killed. If that guy doesn't get to you, you will.

Me? I'll get to me? _She questioned herself_.

Duh. _She thought dryly_. You are starving yourself! If you don't eat soon, you will die!

Oh. _She blinked_.

Was I just arguing with myself? _She thought, slightly terrified_. Kaede, get it together. You...I guess it was you, are alright. All you have to do is get o-

**Slice**

What was that? _She slowly raised herself on her feet and walked towards the door, she was sure now, that the noise was coming from the other side of the door. Her hands trembled as she reached for the shining knob. With one menacing glare, they stopped instantly. No way was she going to be scared, show fear. She was a police officer after all_.

_She tighlty gripped the cold metal and turned the knob. The lock clicked dully as the knob twisted._

_The bright glow of flourescent light crept through the slowly enlarging crack. The door creaked softly as she lightly tugged it open. Her eyes reflexively turned into slitsas she opened the door fully. She was now staring directly at the opposite wall of the hallway._

_The paint was cracked, the moldy yellow paint, the air smelled stale and the bright flourescent bulb over her head flickered._ This house really needs a make-over. _She thought to herself as she rolled her eyes. She took a cautious step forward._

_The floor didn't collapse under her foot as she had previously assumed, so she decided it was safe to keep walking_.

_The hallway was short, though. She had only walked for about ten feet, and passed two closed doors before she had entered what she assumed was the front room of the house. She could see a street outside by glancing through the window._

**Thunk**

_She turned around quickly and found herself staring at that stranger. His back facing her._

_He had to be in the same clothes he was wearing the last time: Stained overalls, cut-up shirt, worn-out tennis shoes. Kaede sneared. This man, this dirty man, looked so pitiful. She had toremind of why she was scared of him in the first place._

_"So you finally came out." He commented. Her eyes widened in fear, she could have sworn she hadn't made any noise on her way out. "That's good." He commented blandly._

_She just stood there, completely still as he turned to face her, eyes hidden by the wall of tangled hair. She felt like a deer caught in the headlights of a truck; she was paralyzed as she stared at the strange man._

_It took her a while to take in his appearance even though she had already seen him once before. Her eyes darted to the short knife that he held in his left hand._

He's going to kill me! _She thought_.

Not if you run away. _Her inner voice replied quickly_.

_He stood in a fixed position across the room, andhe appeared to have no intention of moving._

This stranger is going to kill me! _Her mind panicked as she turned her gaze down the hallway_. I don't know if I can get away in time!

_Her inner voice was silent for a moment, as Kaede turned back to the stranger_.

...Say Kaede, so you still think that guy is a stranger? He kinda looks familiar to me. _Her inner voice began._

_But her body ignored the revelation as she suddenly bolted back to her room, aiming for that open window_.

_"Hey, wait! Where're you going?" She heard the man call after her as she ran._

I have to get out of here! I have to get out of here! _She locked the door behind her as she chanted to herself. She stumbled over the corner post of the bed in her panic. She walked up to the window and pulled at the curtains._

What's this! _She thought in surprise. Wooden planks were nailed across the window_. How could I have missed this? _She thought in horror. She had been in this room for nearly a week, how had she not seen the boards? She instantly grasped the wood and pulled tightly, trying to rip it from the nails._

_She stopped dead when she heard foot steps behind her. "H-how did you get in here? Th-the door, it was locked!" She could feel her hands shake as she dared herself not to look back._

_"Did you actually think I wouldn't be able to open a door in my house?" He asked. She could practically hear the smirk forming on his lips._

He...he could get in this room all along? Did- _Her eyes widened. "Did you do something to me while I was sleeping?" She asked nervously, her voice cracking._

_"Hmph. Don't worry, if I had done anything, you would have known, I promise." He said slyly._

_She was still facing the boards which were covering the window, her only escape._ So, that's a relief. He didn't rape me.

How do you know that he isn't lying, Kaede? Since when have you been one to trust strangers? _The wiser part of her thoughts questioned._

Well...it's not like he has any reason to lie to me, right?

Who said he needed a reason to lie? People need reaons to do something, you know.

But- _Her own thoughts were cut off when she felt a bony hand grab at her shoulder_.

_She was spun around and silently gasped._

_There he was- that man who kidnapped her...but he was different then before._

He changed! But I saw him only seconds ago! Is this another person? _She thought frantically as she stared helplessly at him._

_He was now...cleaner to say the least. His hair was still curly, but not its usual oily self. His attire changed quite dramatically. His old stained overalls shad changed into a furry pelt, which slightly resembled a baboon. His eyes...they were what shocked her the most_.

_They were no longer dark pools filled with confused emotions, they were small red slits for eyes, glowing with a curious malice.He squinted them evilly at her, scrutinizing the details of her face._

_A deep chuckle emitted from his throat. His hand shot up latching around her thin neck._

_She felt a strong force encircling her neck, cutting off her air supply. The dark room around her quickly changed into a colored blur before everything went black. She hadn't even tried to fight back. He stared at her limp form as he tossed her onto the bed._

'...See what you made me do, mother?'

_"Wha-what happened? Who are you?" A form entered the room. "That wasn't Kaede's voice, I know it! Show yourself!" He yelled irritably as he kicked at the door._

_He slowly made his way towards the window, towards the corpse, towards the...wooden doll? "What the hell is this doing here? I thought I left it in my room."_

A Page Break Should Be Right Here Peoples...

She poked at the model of herself. By now the object had become a bit less...creepy. _Why would anyone want a sculpture of my face? I mean, it's not like my face is special or anything, I'm so ordinary_. She sighed.

She was getting really restless. She had been in this strange room for a really long while now and there was nothing left for her to do. She had tried to ask the strange man some questions, but he was locked up in his room and wouldn't open the door no matter how long she had stubbornly knocked at it.

_I, I don't know what's going on here...but I have to talk to someone. I have to ask some questions. Maybe that guy, maybe he knows about Souta's...death_. She sighed again as she ringed the cloth of her night gown.

She had cried herself to sleep the night before, and she couldn't find any more tears to shed today. She just couldn't push herself any further, just couldn't stay in her depression. It had always been her firm believe that when someone died, there was only so much time that you could mourn for them. After seeing aunts and uncles live silent, lonely lives because of their depression, she decided that she could never let that happen to herself.

She would be strong...for Souta. She knew that wherever he was now, he was happy. And she knew he wouldn't want her to waste her time crying over him.

But...she didn't want anyone else crying over her either. And surely someone was...she had been gone for a few days now. Her mother must be sick out of her mind.

Kagome's heart clenched at the thought of her mother. _She...she's already lost Souta and she has no idea where I am!_ Her eyes widened as she brought her hands to rest on her chest. _I have to get out of here. I have to get back to her. She needs me now_. And with that determination in mind, she stood up and walked out of the door.

She slowly walked towards the kitchen, and then to the front room after seeing nothing of particular interest to her.

She stopped quickly as she saw him- the janiter- sitting on the musty smelling couch.

"So..." She began nervously, tracing circles with her feet. "When do I get to leave this place?" She asked, her voice cracking slightly. She had entered the room bravely, but now she felt her body trembling, she was scared.

If she made this man angry, there was nothing she could do to stop him from hurting her. If he got any ideas...he could easily do them. What was she thinking, confronting him like this?

He laughed softly and made a small motion with his hands. Kagome looked down at them, noticing he was carving something. "You see this?" He suddenly asked her, motioning the small carving in her direction. "I was once given a doll like this a long time ago." He said randomly, still staring down at the carving.

"It's cute." She said simply, glad he ignored her question.

"Heh, yea, I guess it is." He smiled, his eyes obscured from her vision by his bangs. "I lost the first one I got, I must have been about fifteen." He continued. " I felt guilty for losing it, so I carved my own."

**Thunk**

A peeling fell to the ground.

"You must be very talented then, to make your own dolls." She complemented as she slowly stepped forward.

"Maybe." He silently admitted. She noticed he was still wearing his dirty clothes. "Well," He continued. "I lost the one I made when I moved from my old house. And so I made another one." He paused for a moment. " And...this has to be the twentieth one I've made. I mean, I keep losing these things." He admitted sadly. "I just don't know what's wrong with me, they're the only thing I forget when I move."

"So I guess you must move a lot then." She assumed.

"Yea."

"Why is that?" She couldn't help but question him. His voice...it seemed so humble. She couldn't believe it was coming from the man that kidnapped her. For those few moments, all of her fear, all of her anger left her.

"I'm not really sure why I leave so much. Just that, one day I decide to move, and I don't even know why." He answered, still staring at the doll.

"It must be trouble to contact your family every time you leave." She commented.

"Nah, not really. I don't have much family...or friends for that matter." He looked up at her and smiled, his dark eyes reflecting her small frame. " Guess that's why I brought you here with me, you're just so...I don't know...nice. And you kinda remind me of someone." He looked back at the doll in his hands. "I guess that's why I always make this doll again. Because it's the only thing that I ever really had all the time. Dolls don't ignore people, or run away from them." His lips contorted into a frown. "But dolls...they just aren't the same. Every time I try to make a new one...it looks a little more different from the first. Kind of like the girls..." He trailed off and looked outside of the window.

"Girls?" She asked, her curiosity growing.

"Yea, the girls. Like you..." He turned back to face her. "I always find these girls that are...familiar, and I bring them home. But...like the dolls...with each one, they start looking more and more different then the first." He stared at her face longingly, making her slightly uncomfortable. "But," Something...sadness, flashed in his eyes. "You look a lot like the first. Every part of you , in fact, except for your eyes." He smiled at her and peeled off another thin slice of wood from the doll.

"Who's this 'first'" She asked nervously, not sure if she really wanted to know.

"I don't really know." He answered looking defeated. "It doesn't really matter, she left me anyway." He looked down at the ground again. "They all leave me."

"Why do they leave you? Do they ever tell you?" Yes, this was typical of Kagome, to be one part concerned, another part nosy.

"I don't know. All I know is they get all scared of something in their room, and then they're gone..." He trailed off.

The two sat in silence for a while, staring at nothing in particular. "Um...am I one of those girls you bring home?" She asked nervously. "What- are they supposed to be be your girlfriends," She said while blushing, "Or...are they...your victims?"

Something in Kagome's mind had clicked. She was kidnapped and brought to this house, he wasn't letting her out. He had also compared her to those 'girls' he spoke of...what did he mean?

But she got no answer, he had fallen asleep. How could he just fall asleep?

Yup, You Guessed It, This Is A Page Break

She sat in the corner booth, legs crossed, eyes closed, and fingers rapping on the table's flat surface. _Why did I come here? I should know better not to go anywhere with that pervert! All he does is flirt with the cashiers and grope! I- I really hate this! He knows he makes me mad! He always knew! He's always used my temper against me! Damn him!_ She thought angrily as she turned in her seat to look at the man ordering her meal.

Her eyes softened a little. _But it is nice to see him again. I know we had some hard times...but to see an old friend after so many years...it's a pleasant surprise. And lately, he's been on his best behavior. He's grown up a lot since high school. _She thought, a genuine smile plastered across her face. _But then_, a small frown formed on her forehead. _Koharu could have been the one to change that. I mean, she's the District Attorney, even at her young age. She has to be an amazing person if she could do that. She probably could work wonders with the lech._ She laughed silently to herself. _I guess it's only fair for two amazing people to be together. I guess they really are a perfect match for each other._

She pursed her lips. _But back on the real topic...Miroku says he found something that might help with Inuyasha's case_. She dug in her small leather purse to find her small notebook. _I'll probably be needing to take a few notes_. She told herself as she turned it to an open page.

"One side salad for you, one burger and an order of fries for me." Announced Miroku calmly as walked up to the table and placed their orders on the table.

"So how much?" Sango asked as she dug in her purse.

"Huh?" Miroku asked dumbly as he took a seat across the table from her.

"How much did mine cost?" She asked as she pulled out her wallet and unbuttoned it.

"Oh, that, don't worry about it." He said casually as he ate a fry.

"No, you don't have to pay for me, I'm a big girl now." She said as she pulled out a crisp bill from her wallet.

"I know you're a big girl, but I insist, dinner's on me." He pushed her hand that was holding the money down.

She grumbled lightly and put the money back in the wallet. "Alright." She gave up.

"Think of it as a date." He added simply with a grin before he took a bite of his burger.

She choked on the Sprite she had been sipping. "What? You're going out with Koharu!" She pointed an accusing finger at the man sitting across from her. "You- you womanizer!"

"Relax Sango, I only meant that two people were eating a meal together, _us_, and that one of them would pay for the entire meal, _me_." He chuckled. "You're so funny when you're flustered." He winked at her before taking another bite of his meal.

_See? I told you he likes making me mad! He's starting right now! _She told her conscience. She mumbled angrily to herself as she sipped her drink again. "So, anyways, what did you have to tell me about Inuyasha?" She asked, trying to move onto a new topic. She put her purse on the table and put her wallet in, shoved it in actually, the purse was pretty full. A small piece of paper fell from the wallet as it was being shoved in.

It gracefully slid in front of Miroku as he stared at her attempts to unsuccessfully put her wallet in her purse. "I think you might want a larger purse Sango." He commented as she began taking out objects in order to rearrange them.

"Nah, I just need to throw some stuff out." She said under her breath as she was finally able to slid the zipper across the opening. "There." She said, feeling as though she had accomplished a glorious task.

_She can be so goofy sometimes..._ He thought to himself while smiling. "Hey, what's this?" He found the slip of paper and turned it over. "Oh, it's a picture..." He stared at the photo for a moment. _Who the hell-?_

"Oh that!" Said Sango,a faint tinge of pink crossing her features. "That's just me and Kuranosuke!" She said happily as she looked at the picture from a distance.

"You look happy." Miroku said, feeling a strange pain in his chest. _Happier then you ever seemed with me_.

"We were, we still are." She said dreamily as she looked off in the distance, a smile on her face. "I'm so lucky to be with him."

They sat in silence for a moment, the two eating their meals. "Wait," Miroku put his burger down on the foil wrapping. "You mean, Kuranosuke, _the_ Kuranosuke that we went to school with?" His eyes grew wide, and even wider when she nodded happily. "But I thought...' He trailed off.

"The past is the past," She explained. "I've forgiven him, and we've gotten so close."

He couldn't ignore her healthy pink glow as she thought of her fiance. He also couldn't help feel slightly envious of Kuranosuke either. _How did all of this happen?_

_What, Miroku? Don't tell me you're jealous_. His inner voice spoke.

_Jealous? Please, I'm just worried for Sango_.

_Yea, you just keep telling yourself that._

_Shut up!_ He mentally screamed. He wasn't jealous, Miroku was never jealous...or at least that's what he'd like to think.

"Miroku?"

He looked up at the sound of her voice. "Huh?"

"I asked you what you knew about Inuyasha." Sango said, appearing frustrated that she had to repeat herself.

"Oh yea." He whiped his face with the paper napkin. "About that...I talked to him the other day." He began.

"So you met him?" She looked fairly surprised.

"Yup, kinda bumped into him actually. Nice kid." He said before he took a long sip of his soda.

"Well?" She asked.

_Why is she so snappy? She's been like this ever since we met last week._ He quickly replaced the small frown that was beginning to appear across his features with a calm expression. "He said he was framed by some kid named Kouga."

"Well, I know that." She said testily. _Why is he drawing this meal out? All I want is the information and then I want to go back home...or more like back to my car, whatever._

"Are you in a hurry or something, Sango? You seem to be rushing things." He said as if he were reading her thoughts, though his expression was unreadible.

"Not at all, I just want to know what it is you wanted to tell me. This case is important, Inuyasha's life rests on it." She said, thinking it was a polite answer. She couldn't be too mean, he was paying for her meal after all.

"Yea, that." He looked down at the table. "Well, I found out some information on Kouga, and I think it might be a good idea to go check him out."

"Check him out? Do you mean that I should personally see to finding the kid? I could always call the authorities on that matter."

"But you haven't, and you've known that Inuyasha believes he did it. You're scared that you don't have enough on him, aren't you?" Miroku asked.

"Well," Sango paused, She had been caught off guard, she wasn't expecting that question. "I guess that's it."

"Alright, so then if you check him out, follow him one day, you might find some dirt on him." He explained casually.

"Miroku, the trial is in a week, how do you suppose I dig up some dirt on Kouga, _and_ try to get him convicted before the trial!" She asked, slightly frusterated. Did he not realize how hard it would be to pull something like that off?

"Look, I know it's tough, but if you aren't going to tell the authorities about this, Inuyasha could end up dead, or in prison for the rest of his life." He took another savory bite of the burger. "I also know that it's a hard task for you, and that you can't get much evidence without any witnesses."

"What are you getting at, Miroku?" She asked suspiciously, raising an eyebrow.

"I'll help." He said easily as he picked at the last cold fry in the container. "You can't spy on the kid alone, nothing would really come out of it. One day, the two of us will follow the guy around and see if he's as shady as Inuyasha says he is."

"So what. now you're saying Inuyasha might not be telling the truth about Kouga?" She was a little angry now. _How could he say that my client is lying? Inuyasha is perfectly trust worthy...well, sort of anyways_. She narrowed her brown eyes at the man before her. "Inuyasha wouldn't lie to me."

Miroku looked taken aback by her words. "Look, I'm not saying that Inuyasha's lying, but it's always a possibility. Teenagers like him tend to get jealous easily. Maybe he's just mad because that Kagome girl likes Kouga better."

"Well..." Sango contimplated this for a moment. "I guess it could be that.." She sighed. Leaning back in her seat, she slowly closed her eyes.

"Is it just me, or does it feel like it's really late in the evening?" She asked after a few moments of silence.

Miroku looked up from the dull gray pattern on the table. "It doesn't feel that late." He sighed and looked across the table. _Sango, what are you thinking about? I feel like I don't know you anymore. The part of you I used to know a long time ago...it's almost gone now. What happened?The oldyou would be outon Kouga's trail right now._He found himself wondering.

"Well, sorry, but I'm going to catch up on some sleep Miroku, good night." She stood up slowly and smoothed her skirt down. "It..." She looked down shyly. "It was nice talking to you again." She fiddled with her purse nerviously. She began towards the door.

"Wait, Sango!" Miroku called to her.

She turned around, "What is it?"

"Um...can I have your phone number, it's hard contacting you through your office." He asked honestly, sending her a pleadinglook. "I promise I won't bug you." He added a couple of seconds later...just in case.

"Alright..." She agreed lightly. "Do you have some paper?"

He dug through his pocket, searching for something. "Here." He handed her some random business card someone had given him.

She quickly scribbled down her number and handed it back to him. "Alright, I guess I'll be leaving now, good night."

"Good night," He said to her retreating figure.

"Oh, Miroku." She turned around. "Why did you take me out to _this_ place for dinner?" She asked curiously, the question suddenly coming to her.

He smirked. "You see that guy in the back? The one frying the potatoes?" He motioned towards the kitchen. "That's Kouga."

I Really Wish The Page Breaks Would Show Up So I Wouldn't Have To Do This

The dark room smelled of a combination of smoke and alcohol. That wasn't too surprising speaking as the small hole-in-the-wall served as a bar. Several customers loomed quietly in the dark corners, watching the new and suspicious drunks that were singing madly by the bar. Others were in silent groups near the middle of the room, drowning their sorrows in red wine.

The tall, reasonably attractive bar tender was drying the freshly washed glasses with a white napkin. He was silently gazing at the familiar faces, grimacing at the recently newfrequent visitors. He had worked at the small bar for nearly a year now, and he wasn't quite sure what brought all the new faces in.

The front was anything but attractive. The pale red paint was slowly peeling, and the dim bulbs flashed often. The door creaked loudly when you did as much as look at it the wrong way, and the small twelve inch television screen showed pictures in black and white.

He grumbled under his breath as he looked in one corner of the minute room. There sat a usual and a not-so-usual together. As he stared at the shimmering white hair of his customer, he soon realized what it was that kept the customers coming back.

It wasn't the ridiculously low prices, and it definately wasn't the 'homly' atmosphere. It was the fact that no questions were asked, and every customer got exactly what they ordered.

Countless times, he could rememeber selling glasses of the bitter liquid to obviously underage kids, not caring what came of it. He didn't care if they got in a wreck and killed innocent people, he had no friends, he had no family. If some stranger was inadvertantly killed by his illegal doings, he really wouldn't care. One more black mark on his list wouldn't do him much worse.

But, there was just something about that kid in the corner. He couldn't help but stare at him. Not only were his looks unusual, but so was his behavior. Don't be fooled, this bartender had seen plenty of demons in his day, but this one was different. He had gotten word that the kid was a hanyou, but did that really explain the dog ears? Not even full blooded demons seemed to have animal ears. And then...that punk would always come here alone. That was pretty strange considering he was so young. What was it about him that he felt the need to drink so much.

The bartender, he would never say anything. It wasn't his business to pry. But he found it odd that someone so young had become addicted to alcohol. He shrugged it off. But not only that...the kid always came in here alone. He would sit in the corner silently and drink away all the problems he had. So why was he with someone tonight? And why did they seem so...friendly?

Another Page Break

He laughed lightly at the joke she made. Her high pitched voice rang in his sensitive ears. Everything around him was a blur, and he couldn't remember where he had met her. But that didn't concern him much. That wasn't his problem. All he wanted to do was drown. Drown in his own pitiful misery.

He had no idea where Kagome was. No idea if she was in any danger. All he knew was that he was sad. He wasn't sure what it was that upset him so much, but whatever it was, it sure hit a nerve.

He hadn't known what to do, and like the typical Inuyasha, he decided to get drunk.

He knew it would cause him a lot of trouble eventually, but he didn't really care. His mind was a jumble of broken and confused thoughts, and he thought that a couple beers would make it go away.

...But it didn't.

So being the genius he was, Inuiyasha decided to try a hooker. A good lay would make him feel better...right?

But no...they had been in the small bar room for a while. And she, being pretty much with out any shame at all was making slow passes at him, trying to get the job done so she might have time for another job later on that night. But he...

Kept seeing Kagome's face.

Now, maybe if he had had a couple more beers, or a few shots, he wouldn't have minded. But with the little alcohol he had consumed, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty about this.

_Kagome's so innocent. How can I do -that- to her?_ He thought, feeling slightly- dirty as the woman leaned her head on him and seductively rubbed her hand on his chest.

"Inu baby, are you ready yet?" She purred into his ear, stroking his head softly.

He opened his eyes lazily and turned to her. His vision blurred for a moment, and he blinked.

"Huh?" He asked dumbly at the girl before him. "Kagome, what are you doing here?" He squinted his eyes at the girl who was peculiarly grabbing his arms. "Aren't you going to be late for curfew?" He blinked again, alcohol was obscuring his vision.

He saw the girl again...the hooker. A slight pink flush had spread across her face. "That's it!" She stood up quickly. "That's the third time tonight! I don't know who this 'Kagome' is, and I have no idea why you are so obssessed with her, but I can't take this anymore! I can't stand to watch you drown in your sorrows like this kid. You're too young. If you're having girlfriend troubles, you shouldn't use me to try and fix them!" She left with an angered huff and paced out of the room.

"Huh?"

Ha Ha A Hooker Actually Gave Him Sound Advice! Oh, This Is The Page Break!

It was a little misty outside as he walked down the deserted sidewalk. The small droplets of water that had collected in his hair reflected the dull light emitted from the street lamps. That particular street was lined with townhouses, and at this time of night they were all shrouded in darkness. There were no cars on the road, and no fellow pedistrians, hell, he didn't even see any inscects hovering around the street lamps tonight.

But he didn't feel lonely. Not now anyways. He had grown up, past the awkward teenage years of depression and lonliness. He was no longer uncomfortable to be by himself. But he would never admit to anyone that he had, at one time, felt alone, excluded, and hurt.

But even though he felt no pain from being in this solitary state now, he couldn't help but remember how he used to feel.

Because, even though Miroku seemed like a simple person on the outside, he was anything but.

Anyone could easily see that Miroku often was the jolly, perverted, and handsome man that was always the center of attention. He had always been positive, he had many talents, and he was quite popular with the ladies. But...that's exactly why he used to feel alone. He had always felt like he was the only one.

In high school he had never had any steady friends, anyone he could trust. Even though he talked to many people, there was never really anyone he could count on. And the fact that he was always surrounded by people that only liked him for the person he pretended to be, well, that hadn't really comforted him.

Then he had met Sango. At first she was a little weary to trust him (though he had to admit he hadn't chosen the best way to introduce himself), but she came around. After their first year of high school together they had gone through a lot of ordeals together, and had gotten through with out too many scars. And in their second and third years...they had begun to know each other inside and out. (Not in a perverted way, mind you)They were almost the same person.

And those, those had been the best years of his life. He had known they would get along since the first time he saw her, though he had to admit he was caught a little off guard at times. She was the first girl to ignore his casual charms, but eventually she gave in. And it took him a while to see the good in her. She was a little rough around the edges, but he eventually saw through that.

But then came their last years together. And like all good things, it seemed their friendship had to come to an end. Unfortunately for them, this particualr 'good thing' was cruelly ripped from them. It started going downhill after her brother was shot...and got worse when a new kid began taking an interest in her.

It wasn't that this new kid was that bad. It's just that...she had never had a boyfriend before. She had started out very nervous around the boy, but she adapted to him soon enough. But then...the boy found a new interest, and she had to deal with the heart break. And that, that was not easy for her. Not only was it her first time experiencing that kind of pain, but she was alone.

And thinking back on it, Miroku wanted to kick himself for not being there for her. But he had to keep his anger, his jealousy in control, and he thought it would only be worse for her if he had gotten involved.

So, she stopped talking to him, and he was alone again. All through college, he was alone. He hadn't been able to meet anyone like her, in any way at all.

And then, a few years after he had graduated, he met Koharu. The sexy lawyer who had fallen madly in love with him after speaking at a seminar he was attending. At first they had had a physical attraction (anyone surprized? This is Miroku we're talking about...), but then their relationship had gotten serious. The longest relationship he had ever had, and one of the most enjoyable ones to boot. They hardly ever faught, and they just had such a good time together.

But...if he was enjoying their relationship so much...where did that strange feeling he got when he found out about Kuranosuke and Sango come from? _I'm just being protective of a friend, that's all._ He thought to himself as he started towards the door of one of the houses.

He dug in his pants pocket for the house key, and slowy opened the door.

The door opened silently as he made his way into Koharu's home. The front rooms were dark, she liked to keep her electric bill as low as possible. He could hear her melodioius voice drifting through the house.

"Why not?" She asked. "They've had enough time. I've waited long enough for the trial...I don't care if their busy! So am I! What? So now they've got 'evidence of their own. That's a load of crap and you know it!" He could hear her pacing angrily in the kitchen. The light smell of lasagna drifted through to the front rooms.

"I can't believe this. They can't do anything to save themselves now. Yes, I know that, but-" She paused. "You did NOT just hang up on me!" He heard the sound of the phone crashing loudly onto the receiver.

_Guess she didn't get too far with that arguement..._ He thought to himself as he walked in smiling.

She must have heard his light footsteps as she turned around, a bright smile painted across her face. "So, you're finally home! Where'd you go anyway?" She asked as she hugged him tightly. "I've been waiting."

"I had some business to take care of." He answered swiftly, giving her his famous smirk. He kissed her lips lightly as he placed the bottle of wine he had been carrying on the counter top. "And here's where the rest of the business trip takes place." He wiggled his brows suggestively as he pressed her against the counter, his hands on her hips.

He saw the delicate blush roll over her face as she moved closer to him. ...And then they both jumped at the unexpected noise of her cell phone from another room.

"Oh my! I'm so sorry, Miroku! I have to get that!" She began on her way.

"Wait up, I have your receipt from the other day, why don't you go bring it to your room while you're there." He fished in his pocket for his wallet and went to get the said paper.

"What's this?" She said quizically, ignoring the ringing phone as she bent down to see a slip of paper that slipped from his wallet.

"Huh?" He asked dumbly as she held it in her hand.

"Miroku?" She showed him the slip of paper, the one Sango had written her number on earlier that day. "Why do you have her number?" A frown instantly found it's way on her face.

"Uh..." Miroku began intellegently.

"Why do you have her number?" She repeated, her once happy face, now filled with anger.

"She gave it to me?" He asked dumbly, what had she expected from him?

"That slut!" She yelled angrily. "She's trying to seduce you into getting some dirt on me or something, I know it!" Koharu yelled angrily. "And you." She turned to him, pointing an accusing finger his way, "Don't tell me, that she was the 'business' that you had to take care of!" She yelled.

"But wait! I can explain!" He began pitifully.

"I don't really give a damn! Get out of my house and...and have some fun with that slut! Miroku, I knew you were a flirt, but I would have never expected this!" She stormed out of the room, leaving the paper to float to the ground.

Miroku stood still, quite stunned. "Uh..." He looked down at the paper, at Sango's familiar handwriting.

'She...is no slut.'

He gently picked up the paper and quickly got out of the house.

End Of Whatever Chapter This Is

I hope there weren't too many mistakes. It took me a while to proof read it! This chapter os around 13 pages long, the longest chapter I've ever written!

Did you like it? I didn't like the dinner date with Sango and Miroku, I think I should have changed something about it, but I won't now cause I'm getting used to it. I likedMiroku's reflection too, bet ya'll are all itching to know what happened in high school. And...did the first part confuse you? Good.

And hmm...do you guys like this story? I think parts of it are boring, but I'm slowly startingto like it as it gets longer...

Oh, and I'mchanging thegenre of 'horror' to 'mystery' I think it's more fitting...And I'm trying to get the next chapter written down as soon as possible! Please review you guys!


	9. Chapter 8

﻿ Okay, so for the loooong wait. I really didn't mean to do that to you guys. I can't to reviewer response either, cause I'm in a hurry! The first part of the last chapter was a flashback, and if you didn't understand it, don't worry, you weren't supposed to. Thanks for your reviews though, they were great!

* * *

Chapter Eight:

Flashback

He pulled the old sweater over his head as he made his way towards the door of his small bedroom. Like any boy his age, he didn't keep the room very straight, so he found himself hopping over some clothes and his math binder in order to get out. 'Shit! I slept late! Sango's gonna kill me! I was supposed to meet her ten minutes ago!' He hopped over one last stack of comic books before he placed his hand on the gleaming knob.

It turned with a soft click and he quickly made his way down the long hall way. The house was so quiet all morning; it had surprised him because he was normally woken up by the sounds his family made while getting dressed in the morning. 'Wonder where everyone is.' He thought absently, a little distracted while maneuvering his way through the house. He couldn't help but let the eerie silence puzzle him, it was so...unnatural.

He walked into the small rectangular kitchen and made his way towards the off-white colored refrigerator. Breakfast was the most important meal of the day, and he sure as hell wasn't about to miss it, even if he was running late. 'You think that's why Sango is always mad at me? Because I am always eating?'

'No, because you are a pervert.' His inner voice answered rather quickly. Ouch. Okay...so maybe that was the truth, but did he have to be so mean about it?

He pulled out a carton of milk and a container of what looked like yogurt...he was too hungry to picky this morning, so he didn't mind much. He searched the drawers in the kitchen for a spoon, and he stuffed one in what he hoped was strawberry kiwi yogurt. He grimaced at the watery surface though, so he decided he could wait until lunch to eat...maybe he'd be lucky enough to find something that wouldn't kill him.

He tossed the yogurt in the trash can from across the room, ever the basketball player, and slid the spoon down the counter so that it would eventually fall into the sink. Then he quickly chugged the milk directly from the carton, then tossed it in the trash can as well. 'Come on Miroku, gotta be fast.' He chanted to himself as he ran to the living room for his backpack, his shoes squeaked on the floor.

He scrambled to throw all his folders which were lying across the floor into his bag, and shuffled some crumpled papers in as well. Sure the bag was a mess...but at least he had everything.

Once he had gathered everything, he stretched his arms, yawned, and headed towards the door.

"And where do you think you're going?"

His heart stopped there. 'He's not supposed to be at home now.' He thought as his eyes stretched open in surprise.

"T-to w-work on an as-ssignment." He stuttered. He turned to face his father, his drunk father. 'Why is he drinking so early?' He thought frantically to himself as he backed up towards the door.

"So, does 'an assignment' come before manners? You left the kitchen a mess." The tall man said, wearing a sadistic grin.

Miroku bit his lip, drawing out some of his own coppery blood. He looked at his father fearlessly, ignoring the sour metallic taste spreading through his mouth. There he was, a seemingly average middle aged man. He was of an average height, average build. His clothes were nothing extravagant, a gray t-shirt and fading jeans. If it wasn't for the smile planted across his lips, or the dim smell of alcohol radiating from him, Miroku wouldn't have felt intimidated at all. But...it WAS there, and he DID feel intimidated. Something about that look he was wearing: that smile, those eyes.

Something was different, and Miroku didn't want to know why.

"I-I am sorry. I didn't think I made a mess of things." Despite his stuttering, he looked calm enough.

"Didn't think?" His father questioned. Right there Miroku saw what was coming at him, a horrible cliché he thought he'd never experience. "Didn't think?" The man repeated.

The younger male felt an odd tingling flow through his veins. If this didn't feel so tense, so serious...if he wasn't scared for his life...he would have laughed. 'This conversation...it never happens in real life.' That's what he'd say. 'You only read it in books, only see it in movies...'

It's amazing how realistic books and movies can be sometimes...

And then, as if it were all being rehearsed for a play, "Maybe you should have 'thought' about it this time." His smile turned into a frown, as if he were prepared to make a long, disappointing speech. "I'm tired of you always acting so stupid. I mean, what kind of retard did I bring up, anyway? You're failing half of your classes...always chasing around girls without a chance of getting them, and to top it all off: You can't even clean up after yourself!" He glared at his son from across the wide living room. From the twinkle in his eye, Miroku could tell he was enjoying this.

'He's drunk, don't listen to what he says.' He warned himself as he stared respectfully at his father. What was he doing, anyways? He felt nervous, looked fearless, and spoke respectfully. What did he think he could accomplish that way?

He then saw his father crouch down, and the next thing he knew...he was on the ground, his face being pounded by strong fists.

"I'll teach you, son." The drunken man laughed. "Bet you'll think twice about making a mess next time, won't you?"...and he threw his fist at Miroku's face.

What was his father thinking now? Could he be that drunk? Miroku couldn't hear anything right then. His head was being punched hard, and in all the right places. He was quickly loosing his consciousness, but could do nothing to stop the drunkard. He wasn't strong enough, not even when his father wasn't being driven by alcohol. And he had been too surprised this time...not that he would have fought back or anything.

It was a strange sensation, each and every time this happened...it was the exact same. He was pummeled with emotions every time...not to mention fists. What was he supposed to do? Hit his father? Was this really worth military school? No. As satisfying as it would be to fight his father back right now...it wasn't worth it, not at all. He was still young. He may be a teenager, but that didn't make him old. If he fought back now he would screw up his whole future.

Maybe he was as stupid as his father always told him he was. He wouldn't' t even save himself right now because he was didn't want his life to change.

Not to mention he was scared shitless about what his father would do if he swung at him. Could he stand up to the older man? Not likely. He may be stupid, but not that stupid. 'Sango...' He thought to himself as he felt this father's last swing hit him directly in the jaw. 'I don't think I'll make it to the library today.'

His mind hazed over for what felt like just a couple of short, painful seconds. His head was spinning, but he wasn't moving. He felt like he was being pulled apart by someone, but he also knew that his father had just left the room. And even though he wanted to just give into the pain, drown into the darkness hanging over him, he fought back. He slowly got up and grabbed his head in agony and slowly rose, grabbing onto a chair near him for support.

And then the phone rang.

He slowly straightened himself up and stared at the phone across the room. Should he get it? He didn't want to...but if he answered it the ringing would soon end. He decided on getting rid of the sharp sound that was echoing in his ears and picked up the phone.

End of Flashback

* * *

"Hello?" He asked heartlessly as he brought the phone to his ear.

"Miroku?"

"Sango!" He shouted as he bolted up at the sound of the familiar voice. "I'm sorry, I can't go to the library." He said quickly as he thought of the best way to explain his absence.

"What are you talking about?" Her voice echoed in his brain for a moment. What was he talking about, again? He looked down. He was sitting on his bed, twisted in his pale sheets. Then the memory of his dream flooded back into his mind,

"It was only a dream?" He said softly to himself, grasping the sheets wrapped around his body.

"What was only a dream?" Sango asked from the other line. She sounded completely bewildered.

"Nothing." He answered quickly, a little too quickly.

It wasn't really a dream, it was a memory. And dream he was glad as hell to wake up from.

He grabbed his head, making sure he was really awake. He felt no pain though, he was okay. 'Why did I suddenly remember that?' He shook his head. 'I need to get more sleep.'

He then remembered the phone in his hand. "Oh, hey." He adjusted his title from earlier. "Sorry about that, you just woke me up." He laughed lightly. "What's up?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't think it was that early." She said quickly. She sounded embarrassed suddenly.

"Don't worry about it. I should be up by now anyway." He comforted. 'Just anxiety dreams, Miroku. It happens whenever you break up with a girl, get over it.' "So what did you call for?"

"Nothing much. Just thought today would be a good day to go...spy on Kouga." She said. "Damn...I feel like a bad person when I say 'spy'." She added, a little more to herself then anyone else.

He sighed. "Don't worry about it, really. You know yourself there's nothing wrong with following the kid around."

"What? There's a lot wrong with-"

"Calm down. Just...just let it go. Don't worry about wrong or right. Just think about helping Inuyasha. This will be for his good, remember that. This is the only way." He said placidly.

"It's not that easy for me, you know. I've kinda always been one to play by the rules." She admitted lightly over the phone.

"I know, but hey, breaking them just this once won't hurt anyone." He said, hoping to get her spirits up a bit.

"What about Kouga? He could get in trouble." She added quickly.

"We're not on his side!" he shouted back aggressively. "Look, don't worry about it. Just focus on Inuyasha's safety. I'll meet you at the cafe after work. Bye." He added on a softer note as he tried to convince her to feel better.

"Oh alright." She gave in. "I guess I'll be seeing you in a few hours then."

The line clicked...she hung up. He put down the phone he had couldn't even remember picking up. Something was wrong with him.

* * *

His head was spinning, racing, and being viciously beaten up. Not only was he suffering from a hangover from the other night, but now he was being chewed out.

"...and why a hooker? You could have at least had your fun with one of the skanks at your school!"...and the point of this was...?

"Look Sesshy," The older brother's eyes narrowed considerably, but Inuyasha ignored them. "I'm okay now, so what does it matter? You tracked me down before anything happened." Inuyasha looked at his brother dryly. "I don't know what the problem is with you, maybe you're just over protective or something, but don't get all bitchy with me." He rolled his eyes and made his way towards his room.

"Bitchy? I'm a fucking guy, if anything I'm bastard-y." It seemed the older brother was still a little gender sensitive these days after some past misunderstandings. "What does it matter? I'm responsible for you! If you had gotten caught in the act you'd be in a foster home and I'd loose my job."

"So that's it, isn't it." Inuyasha laughed. "You just care about your job." He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I promise to be good from now on Sesshy, don't worry about your precious credentials." He spun around, sure to send the older man a one fingered wave.

He left his brother staring at the door, slightly confused. 'All I care about is my job?'

Inuyasha practically flew out of the door as he traveled as far away from his brother's home as he could. His head was downcast and his hair floated around his head, moving with the gentle breeze. This wasn't the first time he had run out of that house, and it probably wouldn't be the last.

Every time he did something wrong, every time he stepped over the line...he would just run away. Call it over reacting if you will, but that's what would happen. But it is a fact that Inuyasha wasn't a drama queen, not some confused teenager. In fact, he wasn't over exaggerating at all, and he knew exactly why he was upset.

Sesshoumaru was the kind of guy who cared about his reputation and about the way people viewed him, and even though outsiders would consider those to be noble qualities, Inuyasha certainly didn't. He was perfectly fine with the idea of his brother having a conventional life, and was, at most times, happy to claim Sesshoumaru as family. But then there were times like these...

Yes, he does realize that he shouldn't have done what he had. And he knows that he jeopardized the future of both of their lives...but didn't Sesshoumaru see that? Inuyasha may not have been the smart sibling, but he wasn't stupid. And his grades could be accredited to his laziness, not his stupidity. So what really got on his nerves was Sesshoumaru's blindness. After living together for most of their lives, couldn't he at least begin to understand Inuyasha?

All he talked about was his job, his position, his importance. Inuyasha was happy for him and all, but he felt more and more worthless with every new adjective added to his brother's list of compliments. Inuyasha was the bad child, the complete opposite of his older brother. He didn't have a job, he got bad grades, he fought at school, and no matter where he went, who he would go to, he would get the same complaints.

That's what made Kagome so special to him. She saw things differently. And it hit him right then as he was walking down the gloomy street how much he missed her right now and how much he wanted to get her back from wherever she was. She was the light of his life, and when she wasn't around...life was a lot like the weather that day.

The clouds hung low in the sky and the air was feeling quite humid. Unfortunately for him, Inuyasha was feeling faint from the heat. His head was sore, he had a fever and the air was muggy. Today was definitely not his day.

'If only Kagome was here...' He thought to himself as he walked down the empty sidewalk. 'If she was here...I...I wouldn't be so...I don't know...I wouldn't be so much like my mopey self.

* * *

He slowly closed the door behind him, careful to not make any noise. He was trying to get out of that boring room, skip work. Not only were they still looking at those same pictures for No Man, but today he had better things to do.

No Man...how long had he been on that case anyway? How long had anyone been on that case? No one had any clue who could be the murderer. How did they expect a rookie like him to help in a case like this? There were no leads, barely any clues. The only thing he could figure is what he had told Sango. And he was starting to forget some details in his hypothesis.

'Let's see, ' He thought to himself as he made his way through the maze like halls. 'There was some kind of wooden doll at every scene. Each woman had common features...black hair and brown eyes. The victims looked a lot a like, but that was a common trait of serial killers: to kill people with some physical feature in common. There were never any fingerprints, and no one owned the homes in which someone was killed, the houses were often run down and hadn't been lived in for years. Each house had a common trait...about three of the rooms would appear lived in. One of those rooms, which had the most fingerprints from the victim, could have many small holes in the wall. Those holes were similar to the holes made by tacks, but that didn't help much. There were never any tacks left, and there was nothing in the room that could tell us what was being held up by the tack.' He combed the front of his hair back with his hand and sighed with exasperation.

He silently walked past Sesshoumaru's door, no need to call his attention. If his boss caught him skipping...well, that wouldn't be pretty.

'Ugg, this case makes absolutely no sense. What do they think? I'll be able to tell them exactly what happened in all those houses with those small traces of evidence? I can't do that...there's no way.' He rolled his eyes and turned another corner.

His eyes glazed over as he walked, he was so accustomed to the building after such a short time, he didn't need to see in order to get himself out.

And even though his progress wasn't getting too far because of the lack of evidence, he was still mad. He had an alibi for not knowing what was doing on with No Man. After all, who expected a rookie to know a case back and forth with so little evidence? But that excuse didn't make him feel any better. He was mad at himself. He might not have been able to solve this case, but he should at least be trying harder.

It was obvious enough to him that he was being lazy with this case, either that or preoccupied. But he wasn't usually lazy, so what was he preoccupied with? He didn't know...but whatever it was he had better get over it soon because someone else could die. If No Man wasn't arrested soon, he would be off killing some other woman. 'Come to think of it...Sango fits the description of the victims...' And at that thought he mentally slapped himself.

That was it. She was what he was preoccupied with, she was the one distracting him. But after thinking it over for a minute, he wasn't really so surprised. She always did have a way of infecting his thoughts. He could be thinking of getting new plumbing, and the next thing he knew he was thinking of what kind of sink Sango would approve of him getting. Or one time he was shopping for flowers for Koharu, and even then Sango had been on his mind. Just a few weeks ago he would have never admitted it. But now that Koharu was no longer part of his life, what was there to deny?

He shook his head, 'Why can't I stop thinking about this?' He gritted his teeth as he neared the door.

"And where are you going?"

'Shit, shit, shit!' He cursed himself. He knew he shouldn't have left early, he knew it! But...he had anyway. How dumb was he?

'Face it, Miroku, you're as dumb as they get, always were...' The inner voice just had to say.

Miroku rolled his eyes and slowly turned to face the person who spoke to him. "Hmm?" He asked as he turned...and then he froze as he noticed who was talking to him. "What was that, Sesshoumaru sir?" He suddenly felt tiny needles picking at his skin as he nervously awaited for his bosses response.

His boss stood tall and straight, as per usual. His glassy amber eyes glinted in the fluorescent light of the hallway. His arms were crossed and his face was expressionless. Miroku couldn't tell if he was angry at him for attempting to leave early, or curious as to why he was in the hall at all. "I said, where are you going? I hope you aren't planning on leaving early." He sent Miroku a condescending look as he stared down his nose at him.

"Uhh..." Miroku dumbly mumbled as he thought of an excuse.

"Forget it. I know you were skipping, it's a little obvious when you're the only one walking the halls." He sighed while taking a few steps closer to the younger man. "Look, this job is just as boring to the rest of the people in that room, and they aren't even getting paid half as much as you are." His bright eyes darted from all sides of the room. "Why is this so hard for you? You don't even have to come in three hours a day."

Miroku looked down guiltily. In all honesty, he really didn't know why it was so hard, it just was. It was a confusing job, and he just wasn't making any progress. No puzzle pieces were fitting together, in fact, half of them were still missing. "I don't know...I'm just...bored I guess..." He pursed his lips and looked down the hall through the glass door. Freedom was on the other side of that door, he wanted to leave the confinement of this building as soon as possible. "I get tired of being here." He looked at Sesshoumaru straight in the eyes.

The older man stared blankly at Miroku for a few quick seconds before a side smirk formed on his face. "I don't believe it." He shook his head. "I don't believe a word of it." He checked his wristwatch for the time and then looked up again. "Look, you have an hour left. Do me a favor and do something worthwhile in that time." He nodded briskly and began to walk down the hall, patting Miroku on the shoulder as he walked by.

Miroku unclenched his fists and stood still for a moment. 'Why?' "Why?" He echoed his thoughts. "Why is it so important that I'm here?" He turned around to see that Sesshoumaru had stopped further down the hallway and was looking past him.

He shook his head, his long silver hair floating around him gracefully. 'I knew he'd ask eventually.'

"It's kind of obvious." Miroku continued, staring hardly at the demon. "You give me a lot of money for barely anything in return. You hired me, a rookie, for such a difficult case. You keep giving me chances whenever I screw up. Why?" Miroku turned around fully, his footsteps echoing in the desolate hall.

Sesshoumaru bit the inside of his mouth. 'He finally caught on.' He clicked his tongue and stared back at Miroku. "We thought you'd be a valuable accet." He said simply.

Miroku took a step back and shot Sesshoumaru a confused look. "What? Why?" 'Why? What's so special about me?'

"Look kid, you've got something in common with the murderer, as simple as that. When we heard you were looking for a job, we thought we might be able to use you for this case. But don't start thinking you're anything special." He stepped closer. "We do this for most of the hard cases. The easiest way to catch a criminal is to understand him. And frankly- we don't understand No Man." He eyed a specifically boring picture that hung on the white wall. "

"So...what do I have in common with him?" Miroku asked skeptically as he walked closer to his boss.

Memories of college classes came flooding back to him: 'Not every case you encounter will be solved, criminal master minds are no fools, nor are most murderers. These people have skill and won't leave us many links. They aren't stupid, and they don't plan on going to jail any time soon. Cold cases, unsolved ones, are still being reported today. And the way these cases are solved, if and when, you generally need to understand the criminal's way of thinking. Sometimes you can't understand the criminal until you know their past, if we knew that already there would be no need for this job now would there?'

"You already know." Sesshoumaru asked dully, waking Miroku up from his day dream. I overheard Shippo informing you on the matter. He didn't say exactly what it was, but I could tell by the look in your eyes that you understood him perfectly." He crossed his arms and stared down at Miroku.

Miroku sent him a quizzical look. "What are yo-" And then he remembered.

Flashback

* * *

He walked into the main hallway; he was definitely late for work now.

"Miroku!" He looked up at Mr. Shippo.

"Yes sir?" He asked guiltily, he knew he was in trouble.

"You've practically been given a free ride! We've given you a home, helped you pay for your flashy car, and even given you a decent job! You could at least work up to your responsibility! You're an important part of this case, you have to be on time from now on, and you have to be prepared to do your job!"

That reminds me... "Why is it so important that I take this job?"

The red haired man looked down. "No reason in particular." He nodded his head, as if clearing his own answer.

"There must be some reason!" Miroku yelled.

Shippo looked to the left and to the right. Then he leaned in, close to Miroku's ear. "Look, all I know is that you and the murderer have suffered the same kind of trauma. No one understands him, so the guys high up there thought that you might." Shippo backed up. Looked both ways, and walked down the hall to his office.

Trauma? Could that mean...? But that wasn't anything physical, why would they care about that anyways?

End of Flashback

* * *

He shook his head. "So you mean that's why you hired me? Because I was abused as a kid?" He looked down at the ground and bit his lip.

"Sorry if that brought back bad memories, but that is the reason."

Miroku raised his head. "No, it's okay. That's not it." He looked down again and began to laugh. "Couldn't you have at least told me that? I was thinking it was just a case about demons and youkai, but now I know. I wasn't sure if that was what Shippo meant, but, whatever." He smiled darkly and began walking past Sesshoumaru. "It would be nice to be told the truth every once in a while. This case might have been easier to start with."

'It's about youkai and demons? What did he mean by that? If he's right, then we were really wrong...'

* * *

She slowly blinked her eyes as they adjusted to the morning sunlight coming through the window. She rolled over in the bed, the sheets rustling with her movement. 'I wonder what time it is.' She thought to herself as she yawned. She managed to sit up, even though she was still tired. The room was a bright yellow, colored by the early light.

She licked her dry lips and stretched her arms high above her head. 'Maybe I should just go back to sleep, it's not like there's anything I can do around here anyway.' She took a final glance around the room, at the walls, at the pictures, and at the clay model, all of which were becoming way too familiar for her liking.

Growl...

'Ugg...' She looked down at her stomach from where she laid on the bed. 'I Am hungry, but I'm not ready to get up.' She made a soft whimpering sound as she dropped her head onto her pillow. The pillow case was crumpled and she was sure to have lines imprinted on her face when she woke up, but she didn't really care. She was in that state of laziness which comes with just waking up.

Rumble

She made a fake sobbing sound as she sat up for the second time. She then began to glare at her stomach. 'But I was sleeping so peacefully before you had to come and wake me up!' Stomachs can be so inconsiderate sometimes...

She slowly scooted of the bed, the sheets making a smothered crunching sound as she put her feet on the cold floor and sat on the edge of the bed. 'These sheets really are uncomfortable, like sleeping on parchment.' She stretched her legs out, almost reaching the nearby wall, and then she stood.

She stretched again, this time bringing her arms up and standing on her toes. When she came down she felt much more limber. She straightened the night gown down and combed her fingers idly through her short hair. She then looked disdainfully at the rest off her hair which just so happened to have been cut off. She rolled her eyes. 'He's so very inconsiderate, everyone's so inconsiderate. But then again...I don't think he cares much speaking as he kidnapped me. But then again, he didn't sound too mean last night.'

She briefly remembered their conversation from the other night. She was convinced now that he really was an odd man. Even though he admitted to kidnapping women (well he really only admitted to bringing them home, but even Kagome wasn't that dumb), he didn't hurt the women. It was strange, the look in his eyes when he was talking about the girls, that far off look...she guessed that he was probably in love with them or something. But all that talk about how dolls couldn't hurt him, it just didn't make sense. She couldn't imagine how a girl could hurt him, but then again, Kagome's pretty naive.

She shook her head now. 'I don't understand him, and that's exactly why I'm going to talk to him again today.' Her usual bright smile appeared on her face as she opened the hallway door. She instinctively turned left towards the kitchen where she had gotten the little food she'd had to eat the whole time she was in the strange house.

She looked at all the closed doors in the hallway as she walked past them, wondering how long it had been since anyone stepped foot in them. Because, as far as she could tell, the only rooms being used were the kitchen, the living room, her room (well that's what she was beginning to think of it as), and his room. She hadn't seen nor heard anyone walk through those other doors. She shrugged at her curiosity and went to the kitchen.

She walked through the open doorway of the old kitchen. The filthy yellow tiles and the battered wooden cabinets fit quite well with the rest of the dreary house. She walked straight to the top cabinets by the sink, adjacent to the window. She had become vaguely familiar with the kitchen layout so she knew enough of the arrangement to find some food. She reached for a random can that was near the edge of the shelf and brought it down to face level. It looked fairly decent, whatever it was, and the expiration date hadn't come yet. 'It's hard to believe he goes shopping at all. It's like he does nothing all day. You'd think the people at school would call him up for not doing his janitorial duties. Whatever.'

She sighed as she found a can opener and opened the can. 'Now where are those forks?'

* * *

He wasn't stupid. Kagome hadn't been to school in a week, and even Inuyasha was worried about her. And for all Kouga knew, Inuyasha was the closest person to her, besides those two girls, but he didn't care about them at the moment.

It was absurd! Or at least, that's what he thought of it. Inuyasha was so frantic because Kagome hadn't been at school the other day, but he hadn't once gone to find her. As far as Kouga was concerned, when something important to you is missing, you go look for it. And that's exactly what he was doing.

He wasn't sure why, but her scent was leading him all through town. But of course, it was week, and it could have been from a weekend that she was with family and they went shopping around town. He wasn't sure, it's not like he stalked her or anything. But he was hoping that this trail would lead him somewhere, give him some clues.

He was sure Kagome wasn't at home. Through the news he had heard that her brother was killed, he didn't know how, but that was a fact. And when he checked the funeral home, he didn't see Kagome anywhere. And the Kagome he knew was sure to be there. Even if she was very distraught, she would have at least been there for her mother, or doing all that she could to respect her younger sibling. The Kagome he knew would have been there, but she wasn't, and that was the only sign he had that proved she was gone, missing. And even though Inuyasha hadn't gone to school for a while (Kouga hadn't either, but he got word from his friends) when he was at school a few days ago he freaked when he thought Kouga had Kagome. Obviously Inuyasha knew she was missing then, and was trying to figure out who took her.

But through his connections, Kouga knew that for the rest of the week Inuyasha was just being a lazy bum. And that's when he decided that he better try and save Kagome himself. If only he knew where she was...

And it was so hard to follow her faint scent. 'If only I had Inuyasha's nose right now.' He stopped in his tracks, surprised at his own thoughts. 'What am I thinking? That half breed can probably only smell half of what I can.' He lied to himself. He knew how wrong he was, how good the hanyou's sense of smell was.

'But anyway, why was that mutt so whiny when she was first gone, but now he's given up? What an ass. Does he think she'll just appear out of no where?' He shook his head. He had almost thought Inuyasha would have been a good ally, but he stopped thinking that once he heard word of that hooker from last night. 'Dog...'

* * *

She had finished eating by now. What she had eaten she wasn't quite sure of, but it tasted okay. She hoped. 'Okay, now where is he? I hope he doesn't think I'll just remain idle all day. If he's going to keep me in his house for this long he might as well let me clean or something.' (Kagome, you're so odd, I swear)

She stretched again, still feeling stiff from sleep. Then she began to make her way to the living room, hoping to find the janitor.

"And who are you looking for?"

A small squeak escaped her lips as she turned around, facing the kitchen she had just left. She hadn't thought there was anyone behind her.

Her shoulders relaxed at the voice. "Well actually, I was looking for you." She smiled. 'I'm glad he was right behind me, I'd rather not have to look all over the place for him.' "Do you have any chores I could do around here?" She asked as she smiled brightly up at him.

A frown formed on his face. "Miss, I don't think we've ever met before." He replied, with a twist of confusion evident on his face.

"But, you're the janitor. Of course we've met! You kind of kidnapped me!" She ended her statement with a touch of anger. Did he think he could just make a fool of her? She was still confused as to where she was, but she would not allow him to trick her any further. "Don't lie to me."

He sent her a fierce glance. "Don't mistake me for that moron. Just because we look a like doesn't mean we have anything else in common."

Her eyes widened in realization as she looked up at the man before her. He looked just like the janitor...but, he never spoke that way. He seemed pretty kind.

"Humph." A small smile spread across the strange man's face as he began to walk toward her. He resembled the janitor greatly...but Kagome could tell that there was a difference in the men. Their clothes, their accent, their eyes, two different colors. Relatives, maybe?

"Uh...sir? Wh-what do you want?" She felt a little intimidated as the newly discovered stranger moved towards her. His smile growing wide, his arms spread out as if...as if to attack her?

She took a step back as he approached her, aware of his sadistic smile as he flexed his long bony fingers. "What are you doing?" She asked wide eyed, on the verge of shouting as she slide back, away from his nearing grasp.

His eyes shined brightly as his smile grew larger yet again. "Oh nothing, just having a little fun." His eyebrows rose higher as he walked even closer. "Are you afraid?"

She mustered a weak smile as she steadied her trembling hands. "N-no. Just surprised." She tried her best to look calm and collected, though her body wouldn't stop shaking.

"Well, there's nothing to be surprised about. My friend Onigumo told you exactly what would be happening to you." He smiled when he saw her stop short of saying something.

'Onigumo? Is that the janitor? He told me what was going to happen? No, I don't think so.' "Mister, I think you've got something wrong. I have no idea who Onigumo is. And if he's the janitor...well, he didn't tell me anything. Sure, we talked a little last night, but then he fell asleep on me." She looked at him, pleading him to believe her. She was telling the truth, she just needed to get him to believe that.

"Oh, he told you. Believe me, it may not have been clear, but he told you."

Flashback

* * *

"Girls?" She asked, her curiosity growing.

"Yea, the girls. Like you..." He turned back to face her. "I always find these girls that are...familiar, and I bring them home. But...like the dolls...with each one, they start looking more and more different then the first." He stared at her face longingly, making her slightly uncomfortable. "But," Something...sadness, flashed in his eyes. "You look a lot like the first. Every part of you , in fact, except for your eyes." He smiled at her and peeled off another thin slice of wood from the doll.

"Who's this 'first'" She asked nervously, not sure if she really wanted to know.

"I don't really know." He answered looking defeated. "It doesn't really matter, she left me anyway." He looked down at the ground again. "They all leave me."

"Why do they leave you? Do they ever tell you?" Yes, this was typical of Kagome, to be one part concerned, another part nosy.

"I don't know. All I know is they get all scared of something in their room, and then they're gone..." He trailed off.

End of Flashback

* * *

She tried so hard to remember the fragments of their conversation, but she was at a loss. They had discussed so much, how could she remember one small part? She couldn't. But the way this man was talking to her, she felt that she desperately needed to. 'What's going to happen to me? What will he do?'

Her hands began to tremble and she slowly began walking backwards, hoping she could get away from the strange man before her. "I...I don't know what you are talking about. He didn't tell me anything. He told me about some dolls...but he didn't say that he was going to do anything to me. You must have the wrong person." She looked up at him, begging him with her large pleading eyes to leave her alone. She was confused and in danger. Kagome, being the kind of sheltered girl she is, didn't know what to do. Everything was so overwhelming. And her nerves definitely weren't being calmed by the fact that the man was slowly walking towards her.

"Girl, you look frightened. Is it me? Am I scaring you?" He asked as he patted his chest. He let out a deep chuckle as he stepped right in front of her. "Don't be frightened. Everything will be all over soon. I'm just going to show you what happens to the girls. Is that okay with you?"

She tilted her head to the side in confusion. 'Girls...that sounds familiar. But...what happens to them? I'd like to know, not find out personally.'

"Now if you would just come to me." He beckoned to her even though she was only inches away from him.

"No." She answered flatly, as she stepped back.

"Look, don't make this difficult, come here." He directed her.

"No, I'm not going to come to you." Kagome may not be the smartest person out there, but she wasn't dumb enough to come to the strange man offering her his hand. At this point she really didn't care what it was that happened to all of the 'girls' she just knew she didn't want it to happen to her. "Get away from me." She took another step back, though he just followed her.

"Do not make this difficult for me." He instructed her as he stepped forward. "I'll make this quick, I promise."

"What do you plan on doing to me?" She asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"That's none of your concern."

"Oh, I think it is." She replied coolly, in the toughest voice she could muster.

"Don't worry about it!" He shouted as he jumped towards her. But she was one step ahead as she turned and began running down the hall to the living room.

"I don't know who you are, but I'm not about to let you touch me!" She shouted at him, making sure they were separated by the old couch.

He laughed. "I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice." His smile grew larger as large tentacles sprang from under his clothes, whipping around in the air, quickly settling around him, pointed at her.

"Wha- what are those!" She stepped back, and pointed towards the slim growths that appeared wooden. Her eyes widened in fear once again, and she continued stepping back until she bumped into the wall.

"If you would have just surrendered...this would have been a whole lot easier fir me. All of you girls, so difficult." He shook his head and looked down at his feet for a moment. "But I do thank you." He began as he slowly raised his head, a strange glint in his eyes. "This way is so much more fun." With a quick motion of his hands the vine like growths twisted and jerked forward, grabbing her arms and wrapping around them.

She just stood in shock, looking from one arm to another. 'What is this?' Her mouth was wide in confusion as the tentacles tugged on her arms, forcing her to stumble forward.

"Now I can either do this the short way or the long way. If you cooperate with me, it will be nice and short and done with in a few seconds." He began to explain.

"No!" She shouted wildly as she pulled against the chords and attempted to break loose.

"...well I guess we're doing this the hard way." He mumbled to himself as two more chords shot forward, grabbing her bare ankles and pulling her down to the floor.

She fell on her head, a loud 'thunk' sounding as her skull hit the wooden floor. 'Why? Why is this happening to me?'

"I guess I should have known that you would be difficult. It was just too easy to get you here in the first place." He shook his head and pulled her towards him with the tentacles, her body rising high in the air as it was carried towards him.

"Please don't do anything to me." She pleaded through her teeth.

He laughed. "Well, I wasn't going to do anything too bad, but then you were uncooperative. I would've made this much easier for you."

She was being held erect, facing him, but without control of her body.

Two more tentacles twisted up behind his head, and jotted forward, towards her neck. They coiled around her, capturing some of her now short hair as well as her throat.

Her body instantly stiffened from fright, and she began to wriggle free, but the chords wound themselves tighter around her limbs and neck. She felt paralyzed, her wrists and ankles became numb from the vines' tight grasp. Her neck was soar from the grip as the tentacles tightened, beginning to choke her.

"Now wouldn't you have preferred dying wuickly? I didn't want to make you suffer through this." He mocked her, as large tears welded up in her eyes. "It will all be over in a xecond, I promise." He smiled as the pressure around her neck and limbs grew greater.

"What's going on here!"

Through the tears that streaked her vision she could see the bright sunshine that entered the room. By the rectangular shape of the bright glare, she assumed someone had just entered the room through the front door. 'Help me...' She tried to reach her hand out to the person, but she couldn't beat the strength of the chord holding her arms in place. The pain overwhelmed her, and her body fell limp, the chords the only thing holding her up.

"Wait!" The newest arriva to the room shouted as he reached his arm out to her.

"You're too late Onigumo." The menacing stranger answered cockily as he brought the tentacles back, letting Kagome's body drop to the floor.

"Why did you do that?" The janitor asked with surprised eyes as he walked towards Kagome.

"It's what I always do."

"But why?"

"Because-"

* * *

She covered her face from the bright sunlight, her hand acting as a visor. "Miroku, did we have to come in the middle of the day? It's so hot out." Sango looked to her right, eying the man standing next to her.

"Look, I know it's uncomfortable right now, but the heat's the least of our problems." He looked across the street at the person they were following, Kouga. "We've been following him all day, and all he's done is walk around town. I didn't expect him to go out and rob a store or something to prove that he isn't trust worthy, but I thought we'd get something out of following him." He shook his head. "But at least I learned something from all of this."

Sango looked up at him expectantly "And what is that?"

"You look excepsionally sexy in the heat."

**Whack**

"You pig, I thought you might have actually learned something helpful, but I guess not. You're helpless, you and your one tracked mind." She shook her head, now self conscious about her black tank top. (Not that she would ever admit that). "And don't you have that wonderful little girlfriend waiting for you to return to her after a long day of work?" She raised an eyebrow as she looked at her companion.

"Well actually," He looked sown to the ground. "Not anymore. I'm a free man again." He shot her a smile, but she could see that it was anything but genuine.

"You okay?" She changed her tone immediately, slightly embarassed that she mentioned the subject. 'They seemed happy the other day.' She thought a little darkly.

"I'm fine." He blew at the hair that hung over his face. "really" He turned to her, sending a small smile.

She nodded grimly. 'Still a fresh wound...' She guessed as she turned to face the youkai that was crossing the street a few blocks ahead of them. "Where do you think he's going anyway?" She asked, trying to change the subject as quickly as possible.

Miroku covered his eyes with his hand and looked down the street. "Your guess is as good as mine." He replied honestly.

They began to make their way down the street. The air between them was tense. Sango felt bad for her old friend but she was happy all the same. Something just felt unnatural about the Miorku she knew being held down by a girl friend. She was also comforted by the fact that she and Koharu didn't have a common link anymore. She didn't like sharing her Miroku with the enemy.

She looked over at her old friend, a warm smile plastered on her face. "It really is nice to have you back in my life." She admitted, though it seemed random.

"You already told me a few nights ago." He answered cockily, his dangerous smile spreading over his face. "I didn't realize you like me so much Sango." He added flirtatiously.

Thunk.

"Don't make me change my mind." She tried to look angry, but a small smile graced her features. "But seriously, it is nice. It was worth saying twice."

"Three times."

Pow

* * *

Her smell was stronger, he was getting closer, so much closer. 'Kagome, I'm coming for you." He said in his mind for about the fiftieth time that day.

He had marked this day in particular his 'go find Kagome day.' And so far, he was making good progress. Even though he had walked all through the town, several times, he finally racked down a scent and he was sure he had found the right trail. He was being lead to the outskirts of town and he was nearing a small neighborhood where her scent was concentrated.

'I'm so close, I can almost feel her presence. I hope she's okay!' With that thought in mind he picked up the pace and tried to get to her as fast as he could.

* * *

"Why is he moving so fast?" Miroku asked, his tone becoming serious as he began to run.

"Miroku!" Sango yelled after him. "We're going to look really suspicious if we start running in the middle of the street." She hissed in his ear as she kept up with his pace.

"Well then, let's make this look natural." He said as he stopped abruptly, Sango taking a few seconds to register his change in motion.

"How?" She asked as she jogged back in his direction. She leaned on his shoulder with her hand as she caught her breath. "Two adults running just doesn't look natural."

"Well, we could act like we're playing tag or something." He suggested.

"Once again, two adults running around isn't natural."

"Looking like a young couple having a moment isn't horribly natural, but it isn't suspicious. If we run around and giggle we could pull that off." He looked at her, awaiting for a response.

"I don't know..." She trailed off as she looked down at Kouga's retreating figure. "Besides, he would hear us and start wondering why we are bringing our game in his direction." She looked up at him thoughtfully.

"I bet you're just scared to act like you're in a relationship with me." He teased.

"Oh please." She rolled her eyes, letting her arm drop to her side.

He looked down at his shoulder once her hand left. Why did he tense at her touch? When was he nervous about a girl touching him, Sango of all girls?

"Why don't we just jog after him, keeping our distance, we'll look like we're exercising if we keep the same pace." She offered.

"Good enough for me." He shrugged and they both began to follow the youkai.

Soon enough the teenager stopped in front of an abandoned house and they hid behind a car parked on the street.

"What do you think he stopped there for?" Sango whispered to Miroku as she peered over the hood of the old pick up.

"Why are you whispering?" he asked back.

She ducked under the hood as Kouga turned around to look across the street. "Because he's a demon with good hearing and if I talk in a normal voice he can hear me."

"Oh." He answered dumbly as he turned back to face the youkai.

He was standing on the porch of the house, searching for an open window it seemed.

"Is he trying to break in?"

"No, I think he's trying to see something."

"Is he spying?"

"He might just be hearing something."

Then the demon began to beat on the door and the two could hear him calling out.

"What's he doing now?"

"Trying to get someone's attention?'

"Then why isn't the door opening?"

Sango stood up from her kneeling position. "I think something is happening in that house."

Miroku stood up beside her, staring across the street at the troubled teenager. "I think you're right."

They began to walk down the street, across from Kouga and the strange house.

"I hear fighting." Sango began slowly, tilting her ear in the direction of the house.

"Two male voices. And there is something being smacked around."

"Are you sure it isn't just the two hitting each other?"

"Well, if it is, someone is using something to hit the other guy."

"What's he doing now?" Sango asked skeptically as the youkai began to pull at the door knob.

"He's trying to get in?"

"Yea."

"Saving a friend?"

"No, Inuyasha said his friends travel in packs. Kouga's the only one you'll ever see alone."

"Then who?"

"Kagome?" Miroku looked down.

"Kagome? That girl Inuyasha's always talking about?"

"Yea."

"Do you hear her voice or something?" She asked, looking up in curiosity.

"No, but from what I was told she's the only thing he'd fight for besides his friends."

'Well. I don't know..." Sango trailed off. "Look! The door's opening!" She pointed to the old wooden door.

The old door could be seen opening, but from their position they couldn't see who was opening the door.

"Look, someone's hand is grabbing his neck!" Sango whispered as she leaned her head forward. "We have to help him!" She began to stand up, but Miroku grabbed his arm.

"We can't do anything." He said firmly, looking straight at the youkai. Sango looked down at him with her dark eyes, and slowly sat down next to him.

"So we just watch? He's being choked!"

"What can we do? he's a fighter, he can handle himself." Miroku reasoned as he continued to stare at the youkai clawing at his neck.

"Wait, why did the hand shrink back now?" Sango questioned as she stared as Kouga who was now rubbing his neck and holding the door open.

"Something inside hit the guy." Miroku answered quickly as he looked at the action across the street intently.

Kouga took a few steps back, threw something through the doorway as the door closed, and ran off.

"What was that?"

"I'm not sure."

"Why'd he leave?"

"Guess everything's okay in there..."

"Should we check up on it?"

"No."

"Why not?" Sango turned to dace Miroku, he was wearing a stern impression.

"I have no idea what just happened, but I think it was just a fight."

"WE should still say Something!"

He shook his head. "All we could say is that some teenagers were fighting. It's not worth it."

"But someone could be in danger."

"Kouga wouldn't have left. Inuyasha swore that he wouldn't leave anyone in danger if they couldn't defend themselves. I was told the only person he wouldn't save or pity was Inuyasha himself." Miroku laughed at the last comment.

"I'll trust your judgment on this one." Sango confided.

"But you're the attorney, you should know what to do." Miroku turned to her. "What's the most lawful decision?"

She shook her head. "Doesn't matter. If they're going to play games with each other, let them suffer."

Miroku raised an eyebrow at her change in voice, but shrugged his shoulders. "Alright..." 'What did she mean by that?'

* * *

Kagome slowly opened her eyes as the pain of her headache dissipated. She had to blink her eyes a few times before everything came into focus. 'Where am I?' She thought to herself as she felt around her body. She hit something cold with her fingers. "What's this?" She asked aloud as she held a small metal box in her hand. She could barely register her surroundings as the living room of the strange house, the darkness from outside provided her with no light and she had never seen the room from this angle. She could only mildly make out what she was holding. 'A cell phone...where did this come from?'

* * *

Yes, weird, I know. I hope those page breaks show up! I have to leave now...Oh! And this is a whopping 26 pages! That's definately a first... Please review, tell me how confusing it was! 


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